Fallen Ashes
by ThirdCoffin
Summary: After the fall, Ruby is captured by Cinder Fall and held against her will. Several years have passed, and now team RWBY and their friends will deal with the fallout of Ruby's return home. (Story very much still being worked on, updates will most likely be slow, more detail in the AN)
1. Chapter 1

It had been three years since Ruby Rose's capture by Cinder Fall. Beacon Academy had been rebuilt, and Salem was being held at bay, at least for now. A war was being fought between the Huntsman and the Grimm, while the White Fang still waged its own civil war.

None of this mattered to Ruby anymore.

All she could focus on anymore was the pain. Cinder was more than happy to take her frustrations out on the younger girl, and had taken to torturing her relentlessly every chance she had.

Ruby sat in the cell that had become her prison over the previous years. She was not chained to the wall, nor the uncomfortable bed she sat on, for Cinder saw no reason to chain someone she had broken so completely. The only time Ruby showed any signs of life anymore was during one of the agonizingly thorough torture sessions that she had come to dread. She stared at the cracked stone floor before turning her head upwards, dead eyes staring out of the lone window the room possessed. Ruby had attempted escape many times before, each attempt ending in cruel punishments that she knew Cinder delighted in. However, no longer did the girl try to abandon her situation, knowing it was pointless to even attempt. The shattered moon shone brightly in the night sky before being swallowed up by dark clouds.

A thick iron door was set ominously in the eastern wall of the room, which Ruby ignored. She knew all too well that the door wouldn't budge unless her captor wanted it to. Moonlight danced through the window tantalizingly as the clouds parted once more, illuminating the room. A white shirt with an open back glowed in the moonlight, offset by black tights that accentuated her muscular legs. Pale scars on her back and arms gleamed in the moonlight, the result of her captor's temper and Ruby's inability to maintain her aura after pain became the only thing she could feel.

The girl had changed over the last three years, having grown more than half a foot and developing a lean fighter's body during her grueling time as a prisoner. Even while looking so helpless and lost, any person in their right mind would call her beautiful, despite her unkempt black and red hair falling past her shoulders to rest gently on her delicate collarbone. Her lithe body was mostly muscle, thanks to the ministrations of her captor. Ruby was more than just a toy to the demented fire witch, she was a tool to be used.

It had started out in such a way that Ruby had no idea her skills were being intentionally honed. She had thought the waves of Grimm she was forced to pit herself against were a part of the torture that had become her waking life. Until the day it was not a small army of Grimm meeting her in the large domed room that served as Cinder's own personal colosseum, but the madwoman herself. This event marked the first proper torture session Ruby had experienced, with the fire witch using her control of the element to cause as much pain as humanly possible as the scythe master struggled to put up a decent fight.

It had continued as such for some time, with Ruby consistently losing and suffering for her losses, but making marked improvement as time progressed. Eventually, Cinder stopped actively sparring with the younger woman, instead preferring to watch Ruby fight against increasingly difficult Grimm as the chance of her being injured by the crimsonette increased.

Three years this had been going on, the result being that Ruby was now a veritable killing machine, harboring skills with a polearm that even Qrow Branwen would be hard pressed to match. In addition to her hard earned skills with her weapon of choice, Ruby was positively deadly when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

Then had come a very painful day for Ruby. The day that her spirit had been shattered beyond repair, when she had been forced to take another person's life against her will.

Salem had devised for Cinder a mask that, when placed upon the victim's face, allowed complete control over the wearer through the manipulation of the wearer's aura. Normally this feat would be far too difficult to maintain due to the amount of aura it would take to control another person, but the power of the Fall Maiden was plentiful indeed. The mask was a delicate looking thing, resembling in a way Raven Branwen's signature helmet sans the second set of eyeholes. The eyes that were part of the mask were long and slanted, glowing red when the mask was active and the wearer was being controlled. The mouth of the mask bore a wolfish smile, sharp teeth glistening against any light that happened across them. Red Grimm markings traced their way along the mask's forehead and cheekbones, completing the ghastly image.

Ruby had been used as an agent of death more than once after having the mask forced upon her, her first victims being a contingent of Atlesian soldiers who had the misfortune of finding one of Cinder's hideouts by chance.

They had been met by a young girl no older than seventeen, a dangerous red glow crackling around her as she tore them apart like toys. Her midnight-black bodysuit had no defining marks other than the small patches of aura-infused cloth that served as a secondary means of attack. Ruby's aura had changed with her, becoming dark and heavy as her soul became more and more tattered. Crescent Rose had been lost in her capture, and Cinder had given the girl another polearm to replace her sweetheart. A halberd that ended with a large black axe-blade and vicious spear head was given to the young woman, runes inscribed along its shaft and blade in earth dust. It served as a harbinger of death for the Altesians that stood in her way.

From that day on, stories ran wild about a black-clad girl wearing a Grimm's face. Hunters and Huntresses that had suffered at her hands the few times she had been involved in altercations over the years had taken to calling her Nightshade, assigning her a AA danger level on the mission boards and a 100000 lien reward for her capture.

The massive door creaked open and then shut, the sound incredibly loud in the silence and shaking Ruby from her thoughts. Dull silver eyes met a fiery amber orb as Cinder cockily waltzed into the room. The older woman closed the distance between them with a few strides and cradled Ruby's face with one of her scalding-hot palms. Ruby could feel Cinder's nails, sharp as a Nevermore's talons, digging into her skin as her head was tilted upwards. Then came the part of Cinder's visits that Ruby despised more than anything else, more than the torture and abuse, more than the smell of her own scorched flesh as Cinder played with her.

Cinder's lips pressed themselves against Ruby's insistently, her tongue demanding entry. Ruby's lips parted with no resistance, having long since lost her will to fight the lecherous advances of her captor. As Cinder explored her mouth for what felt like the hundredth time, she couldn't help but remember the first time she had been taken advantage of by the corrupted Fall Maiden.

 _Several weeks after Ruby had been confined to her cell, Cinder confidently entered the pitiful excuse for a room and, instead of torturing the girl as Ruby had come to expect from the fire witch, the older woman had begun to remove her clothing. Instinctively, Ruby had struggled against the groping hands, only to be rewarded with a painful knee to her gut that drove the wind out of her. She had continued to fight, to bite and scratch at her captor, but that only seemed to encourage Cinder further as she made her own marks on Ruby's pale skin._

 _Clothes were torn from her body as Cinder began to ignite a heat in the younger woman, her painful touch waking something in Ruby that she had never experienced before. Despite herself, the girl found herself responding to the despicable touches and scratches that caused her both pain and pleasure. From the moment her first unintentional moan had sounded, Cinder's eye lit up with a fire that was completely unrelated to the Maiden's power that flowed through her. She was determined to make this girl hers, mind, body, and soul. And, as she cupped Ruby's leaking center in her hand and violated the girl in the most intimate of ways, she knew she would be successful._

 _When she had finished with Ruby, the girl sobbing on the floor with her clothes torn and smoldering, Cinder stood up and began to dress herself. A slow smile played at her lips as she wished Ruby a good night playfully. As the door closed, Ruby heard the woman say something that turned her blood to ice in her veins._

" _Same time next week, Red."_

Cinder pulled away from the one-sided kiss, her eyes glinting dangerously. Her hand wrapped itself around Ruby's throat and began to squeeze. With a low growl, she slammed Ruby's head into the wall and threw her from the bed violently, what little aura Ruby had been maintaining shattering instantly from the assault.

"It seems that your little friends have found this hideout." She hissed, barely able to contain her rage as flames spilled from her lone eye. Ruby lay on the floor, head ringing with pain as her shattered pride attempted to cajole her into fighting back.

All thoughts of resisting immediately flew from her mind as she felt a fiery blade pierce her left thigh, cauterizing the wound and roasting her flesh as it cut deep into her. The aura-summoned weapon sent waves of pain through Ruby's system as Cinder began to slowly wiggle and twist the blade.

"This has become a rather convenient stronghold, and I really am quite upset that several Huntsman are roving my halls. So" Cinder drew out the 'oh' sound at the end of the word. "I'm going to make it so you die here and your precious little friends can come find your pretty corpse. Although, 'pretty' might not be the best description of you once I'm finished."

With that, Cinder severed Ruby's leg completely from her body, leaving a smoking stump halfway between her hip and where her knee would be were it still attached. Ruby cried out in pain and anguish that not even she had felt in the years she had been tortured by the older woman. A second kick from Cinder flipped her onto her back, and the fire witch swung the sword viciously at Ruby. Instinctively, she shifted out of the way and the blow landed on her left shoulder, severing her arm like a hot knife through butter. Cinder let out a small _tch_ of annoyance and brought the blade up one final time, determined to end this stupid girl's life.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from outside the cell. The door rocked in its frame, small dents appearing in the metal as it suffered a barrage from what sounded like an angry Goliath. Another sound of annoyance escaped the fire witch, and the flaming sword disappeared into thin air. Her gaze swept over Ruby's pathetic form and she smiled mirthlessly.

"It seems I don't have the time even to kill you, miss Rose. However, I still owe you for this." The older girl gestured towards her face, specifically to the mask that covered her missing left eye. "You know what they say..." She crouched next to Ruby and caressed her face almost lovingly.

"An eye for an eye." Cinder's hand shifted and struck, fingers digging themselves into Ruby's left eye socket and squeezing, a wet squelching noise punctuating the air as she yanked her hand back. Flames trailed behind her hand as she scorched the girl's face for good measure. Ruby shrieked uncontrollably, unable to handle all of the pain that her body was trying to process. Cinder squeezed her fingers around the ruined orb, chuckling as she stepped into the sole window, dropping into the night. Ruby could do nothing but scream and clutch at her face with her remaining hand, writhing on the floor until the door finally gave way under the onslaught it was enduring. It tore free of its place embedded in the wall, flying across the room and burying itself in the wall opposite.

Yang Xiao Long rushed into the room, hands up and ready to fight. She froze when she saw Ruby, her thick blonde hair whipping around her. She rushed to Ruby's side, tears falling from her eyes as she looked at her little sister's ruined body, the younger girl having passed out from the overwhelming pain. Yang gently scooped up her long-lost sister, their reunion after the years made decisively one-sided and horrifying.

Blake met up with her outside of the fortress that had been Ruby's prison for the last three years, both of them unable to comprehend what they were looking at. Blake had silent tears streaming down her cheeks, her fists clenched in an impotent display of rage. Yang, however, could only stare into the distance and mechanically made her way through the task of loading Ruby onto the airship that had arrived to pick them up, her eyes staring at nothing the entire way back to Beacon Academy.

…

Several days later, Ruby woke with a start in the infirmary at Beacon Academy, a long room filled with several beds that were cordoned off by a maze of screens and curtains. Instinctively trying to roll off of the comfy hospital bed she had been placed on, she landed gracefully, hands brought up in a defensive position, ready to handle anything from the familiar-looking surroundings. The dimly lit room held no secrets to her as she scanned it with a skilled eye, determined that should the need arise, she was more than capable of defending herself against this new trick from Cinder.

Or, that's what she had intended. Instead, her right leg buckled underneath her as she tried to use her missing left leg to support herself, and she painfully cracked her head against the floor. Strong hands lifted her from the ground and back onto the bed, dazed and groaning in renewed pain as the events of that night flashed through her mind. She blinked her remaining eye up at the golden-haired woman who had placed her reverently back onto the bed, not recognizing the gorgeous girl. Several moments went by until her head stopped ringing long enough for her to notice lilac eyes, her breath coming out in painful sobs as she reached for her older sister.

Yang wasted no time in throwing her arms around Ruby, both sisters weeping as they embraced. Ruby, out of pain and shock, unable to process completely what was happening. Yang, in horror and heart-wrenching guilt, cursing herself repeatedly for not being able to protect her precious sister. Both girls sobbed for the time they had lost, for the time they would never get back.

A long time passed before either girl could relinquish her hold. Yang gently extricated herself from Ruby's arm and held her hand tightly, tears still tracing their way down her face. She looked at Ruby, determined to memorize every detail about her sister. The lone silver eye was wet with the tears that covered the right side of her face, gauze wrapped around the other half to cover the ruined socket. Yang cupped her sister's beautiful face, trying and failing to wipe away the tears that continued to flow. Her hand dropped as she got a good look at Ruby's shoulders and collarbone, the pale scars shining in the moonlight that drifted in through the large windows of the infirmary. Fresh tears began to fall from her eyes as she spoke to her sister for the first time in three years.

"I am so sorry." Her voice broke as she began to sob harder than ever, shoulders shaking with the force of her sorrow. A delicate but strong hand cupped her face and brought it up, silver eye meeting lilac eyes. Ruby's gaze was much older than she was, her voice firm as she spoke to Yang.

"Don't be." Came the reply. Ruby's voice was slightly deeper than Yang remembered, a husky quality now coloring the girl's normally high pitch. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Yang."

"I couldn't protect you! I couldn't keep you from getting kidnapped and now you're-"

"Home. I'm home, Yang." Ruby hugged her older sister as tight as she could, ignoring the pain from her battered body. "For the first time in years I'm alright, at least for right now."

Yang hugged her sister back, careful not to squeeze too tightly. She knew things wouldn't be okay, not for a long time, but for now she was content. For a long time they stayed like that, neither sister willing to let go after being apart for so long.

Yang snorted softly, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she leaned back and looked at Ruby. The younger girl tilted her head questioningly at her sister.

"You said you're alright." Yang couldn't help but snort again. "Alright. All right. You're _all right_!" Unable to contain herself any longer, she burst into laughter. Ruby glanced at her missing limbs and couldn't help but join Yang in her mirth, the unexpected pun making her laugh for the first time since her capture. The two sisters laughed together, happy in that brief moment that they could be with one another once more.

Yang's breathing hitched as her laughing turned into more sobbing, holding her sister's head to her chest as she vented years of hurt, worry, and pain. She had missed her sister dearly, and she finally had her back. Ruby gently pulled Yang onto the bed next to her and lay down on her good side, allowing Yang to hold her tight. The events of the last few days overtook the two girls, and they soon drifted off to sleep.

…

When Ruby next awoke, Yang was nowhere to be found. Instead, a familiar figure snoozed in a chair that was pulled up next to her bed. Black, messy hair contrasted with pale skin and a white coat as the man snored loudly. Qrow Branwen had flown to Beacon as soon as he could when he heard the news, stopping only once to call in a favor, and he was exhausted from the trip. Ruby smiled softly as she looked at her uncle for the first time in years, surprised to see a scar stretching from the left side of his jaw to the corner of his eye on the same side.

Looking around in the bright morning sunshine streaming through the windows, Ruby noticed a tray with a pitcher of ice water resting on a small table near her bed. She quenched her thirst and proceeded to throw the wooden cup at her uncle's head, a dull thunk sounding as it hit its mark.

Qrow started and leapt to his feet, his hand shooting towards the sword-scythe he always kept nearby. He calmed down significantly when he saw his niece sitting upright in bed and chuckling softly. Smirking, he sat down once more and took a good long look at Ruby, concern filling his eyes as he took in the extent of her condition.

"How do ya feel, kiddo?" He rasped.

"Like I've lost an eye, an arm, and a leg." Ruby deadpanned, silver meeting red as he met her gaze. He could only find a haunted young woman in that look. "Other than that, I'm glad to be out of that hell hole. Where's Yang?"

"I can only imagine. I myself was a prisoner for about a year once. I was glad to be home after it was over." Qrow had been captured by the Branwen tribe some time back, a band of thieves and murderers, but ultimately he was considered family. He was sure he had been treated a lot better than whatever ordeals Ruby had been through. "Yang had business to take care of in the city. Seems she's going to be taking a break from missions for a while to help you recover."

"Mmm." Ruby hummed noncommittally, lost in thought. Bitterly, she wondered if Qrow had been broken and violated as thoroughly as she had been. He did drink fairly often. She jumped when Qrow snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"I asked if you were hungry, kid. You've been asleep for nearly a week." Ruby's stomach growled loudly at the suggestion of food, making him laugh. "I'll take that as a yes, I'll be right back."

As she waited for her uncle to return, a gasp sounded from the open door of the infirmary. Ruby looked up quickly to see Blake standing in the doorway with tears sparkling in her yellow eyes. The faunus girl wore a black and purple yukata that split down one side, showing off a generous amount of the woman's skin. To Ruby's surprise, Blake's hair had been cut short into a pixie style, her large black and purple ears prominently displayed for all to see.

The injured girl smiled and patted the bed next to her, inviting the faunus to sit. Blake padded forward slowly, as if moving too quickly would somehow chase this moment away. Her ears twitched almost constantly, a sign that the faunus was nervous.

When Blake sat next to her, Ruby reached out and grasped her hand. At this point, tears were flowing down Blake's face and she threw her arms around the younger girl, making Ruby wince in pain as she was squeezed. She ran her hand through Blake's thick black hair as she too began to cry, both girls taking comfort in the embrace.

"I've missed you so much. We've all missed you so much." Blake sobbed into Ruby's good shoulder. Ruby made soothing noises while Blake's cries faded away into sniffles.

"I've missed you guys. All of you. I've missed my family." Ruby felt Blake stiffen at the word 'family' and looked at her questioningly with her lone silver orb.

"Y-you still consider us family? After we failed you?"

"I've already told Yang, no one failed anybody. Would you feel that I had failed you if you were the one who had been captured? Would you want me to blame myself?" Ruby smiled softly as Blake flinched at her firm tone, and she looked at the faunus girl properly for the first time since she walked in. Blake's features had developed into a more feral appearance, her feline heritage only growing more prominent as the years had gone by. She was breathtakingly beautiful, equal parts terrifying and gorgeous, her short haircut framing her face elegantly

"Of course not. I just... Losing you hit us pretty hard, Ruby. We thought you were gone for good."

"It'll take a lot more than a few years of torture, mind control, merciless physical abuse, horrifyingly painf-" Ruby stopped as Blake began to cry again. She sheepishly hugged the girl close, not used to this side of the usually passive ninja. "Sheesh, I was just trying to be funny."

"You're about as funny as Yang, you jerk." Blake hiccuped as she pawed at her eyes. "We've all been worried sick about you."

"I'm sorry, Blake. Really, I am." She hugged the girl tightly, wishing that the last three years could just disappear. "Where's Weiss? She's the only member of the team I haven't seen yet."

Blake met Ruby's good eye with a sorrowful look. Ruby could practically see the cogs in her head turning as she tried to formulate a response.

"Blake?"

"Weiss... She took it the hardest out of all of us, Ruby. After you were captured, she began training with Winter and the spec-ops squad that she's in charge of. She's been blaming herself this whole time, pushing herself harder and harder in an attempt to punish herself for letting you get captured. I'm honestly surprised she's not on one of these beds herself, with how reckless she's been lately." Her amber orbs sought out Ruby's gaze, holding it beseechingly. "Don't hold it against her for not being here. She'll come to you in her own time."

Ruby nodded, a worried frown on her face even as her eye twinkled mischievously. "I know how she is. Getting her to express emotion is like getting blood from a rock."

It was Blake's turn to nod, a warm glow igniting in each girls chest for a brief moment at the harmless jab at their absent friend. They both looked up when Qrow walked in with a large tray full of pancakes, setting it down across Ruby's lap as the girl's mouth watered.

The smell of fresh-cooked pancakes was nearly making her drool, and she picked up the fork laying on the tray. As she dug in to the huge pile of flapjacks, both Qrow and Blake smiled. This was the first time since her arrival that Ruby truly seemed to be like her old self, almost inhaling the breakfast food. She had some difficulty eating due to her missing limb, which served to tinge the moment with a feeling of melancholy. Qrow and Blake met each others' gaze, and he nodded almost imperceptibly at the cat girl.

"I'll be right back, Ruby." Blake said, hugging the girl one more time before walking to the door. "Your uncle Qrow brought something for you."

Ruby shot an inquisitive look at Qrow as Blake walked out, which she turned on Blake as the faunus walked back in hefting two cylindrical bundles of cloth, one of them being slightly longer than the other. Qrow unwrapped the smaller bundle first, revealing a blood-red robotic arm, complete with a shoulder joint. The other package was a matching leg to replace the one she had lost. Ruby looked at the appendages and beamed.

"We'll have to wait until someone from Atlas can come and install the connector plates to your shoulder and thigh, as well as adjust the length of each limb so you're comfortable, but these are a gift from Ironwood. He and Penny both send their regards." He smiled at Ruby's shocked gasp. "Penny is alive and well, Ru. She's been looking forward to seeing you again." Qrow ruffled Ruby's hair, mussing it up further than it already had been, and laughed at the grimace the gesture elicited from the young woman. He turned to Blake, suddenly serious. "Blake, I need to have a few words with Ru. No one else can be here while we talk, I'm sorry."

Blake, to her credit, nodded after only a few moment's hesitation. She shared a small smile with Ruby before leaving the room, gently closing the door behind her. Qrow turned to Ruby, his red eyes hard as flint as he prepared himself for the conversation the was about to happen.

"I know this isn't easy for you. And I know this is the last thing you need while you recover." He began, walking over to the corner of the room, where a large chest had been placed. Ruby's heart seized as she recognized the chest that once sat outside of her cell, the chest containing the compacted halberd and all of the equipment she used as Cinder's personal soldier.

"Team CVFY found this chest during their sweep of the compound that the Beacon teams found you in. I need to know what exactly is going on, Ru. What is all of this?" Qrow asked the young girl as he pulled the weapon in question out of the chest, along with the black bodysuit she wore while fulfilling Cinder's terrible missions. This weapon was not the flashy piece of equipment Ruby had used as a younger girl. It was sleek, black as night and covered in earth dust runes to prevent it from dulling or cracking during combat. The blade was a singular piece of metal, and the halberd did not morph into a rifle but a deadly shotgun designed to eliminate enemies at close range with lethal force. Qrow could see that Ruby recognized both objects, and he pressed his niece for information.

"This equipment matches the description of a dangerous agent of the enemy. Someone who we've been trying to catch for almost two years, now. Do you kn-"

Ruby interrupted, her voice flat. "There should be a mask in there as well."

"Ru, I-"

"Take. Out. The. Mask." She hissed, her voice suddenly full of anger and pain as aura crackled around her.

His face set in a grimace, Qrow pulled out the white wolf mask covered in red tribal sigils. It resembled a beowolf, which he supposed was the intended affect.

"That mask," Ruby stated, voice cracking with emotion. "is the most disgusting, horrible piece of _garbage_ I have ever experienced." Hot tears streaked their way down her face as she sobbed in impotent rage. "She made me do things with that mask, Uncle Qrow. Horrible things. Terrible things." Her teeth were bared, mouth twisted into an inhuman snarl as she relived painful memories. "I've k-killed people. Innocent people."

Qrow looked sadly at his broken niece, understanding etched in his features. He had never encountered anything like this mask, but if his suspicions were correct then Ozpin was going to have a lot on his hands.

"Ru. Look at me." Qrow sat next to his favorite niece, the bed creaking softly under his weight. The girl didn't budge. "Please, kiddo."

Ruby looked up to meet his gaze, and in the depths of that silver eye he saw many things. He saw the emptiness of a person who had lived through hell, through daily torture and anguish. He saw the fire that burned, the hatred for the person responsible. He saw someone who, in no small way, wished for death. And through all of that, he saw pain. Pain that tore her to pieces, knowing that she was responsible for hurting people. The fact that she was not fully in control of herself did not matter, her actions had spelled death for too many.

"If what you're saying is true, whatever you did, whatever you were forced to do, that wasn't you. You're not at fault for any of this." He saw the disbelief in her face. "We're going to talk about this with Ozpin eventually, but for now just focus on getting better." Qrow paused, unsure of what to say next.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby's voice had that strange flat quality to it once more.

"Can you please hide... _that_." Ruby refused to name the weapon or acknowledge the mask that had been forced on her. "I know I'll have to face it eventually, just... not now. Please."

"We'll start building a new scythe soon after you get the prosthetics installed. The chest and its contents will be sent to Atlas so they can be properly examined." Qrow stood and hugged his niece close, a rare moment of tenderness overtaking him. "It's good to have you back kiddo. We'll all help you get through this."

Ruby nodded, unable to speak as exhaustion swept through her, the intensity of the morning taking its toll. Her eye drooped as she gently fell backwards into the pillows, and sleep overtook her once more.

…

The next day, Ruby met with an Atlas technician, who installed the connector plates onto the stump of her leg and the hollow where her shoulder had once been. The man was impressed at the lack of discomfort the girl showed as he modified her body, knowing the process was quite painful. One look at her remaining eye told him all he needed to know in that regard.

Pain was nothing new to her.

Ruby donned her new battle-outfit, a pair of black tights that hugged her legs and hid the bright red of her new leg as well as a plain crimson top that had three quarter sleeves, ending at her forearms. Her signature red cloak hung around her shoulders, a comforting weight after not having worn one for so long. She unclasped the cloak and decided to leave it folded on her bed due to the heavy material irritating her recovering shoulder. She completed her look by styling her hair over her left eye, doing her best to hide the clean white bandages that covered that side of her face.

After getting dressed, Ruby inspected her new limbs. She raised her new hand to the sky, observing the flash of warm sunlight glinting off the material as it shone through the window.

 _I'll have to change that to a matte color. I don't want to give away my position while I hunt._ She thought to herself. She realized that she was thinking more like a soldier than she would have normally, but who could blame her? That's what she had been the last few years. _If you can call a merciless killing machine a soldier, anyway._

Yang walked in and beamed at her younger sister, raising her own robotic limb in greeting. She wore her usual brown duster, her orange scarf trailing behind her as she confidently strode through Beacon as if she owned the place.

"What's up, sis? It's a trip the first couple days, but eventually you'll hardly notice the difference between those and the original parts." Yang knew it took a few days for people to adjust to the many prostheses Atlas developed. Until she was acclimated, Ruby would be clumsier than normal as she grew used to the new appendages. In all honesty, it would probably take a couple weeks for the crimsonette to be fully back on her feet with all of the healing her body would need to go through.

Ruby took a tentative couple steps, wincing each time her left foot made contact with the ground and sent a jolt of pain to the newly connected plate.

"Take it easy, sis" Yang said gently, smiling as she rested her fists on her hips. Ruby stuck her tongue out at her older sister and smiled back. "Well, if you're feeling up to it, I wanted to take you to see Jaune and the rest. They're all jazzed that you're back and they wanted to say hi."

"I'd love to see everyone!" Ruby's eye lit up and a semblance of the girl she had once been shone through in her voice. Yang laughed and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders, walking her to the cafeteria and to their friends. Ruby tried not to show how uncomfortable she was, but couldn't keep herself from limping as she walked.

In the hallways, several people waved or called greetings out to the pair, both sisters responding in kind. When they reached the cafeteria, they found Ren, Nora, and Jaune. All of Ruby's friends from both RWBY and RNJR had come to Beacon specifically for the purpose of meeting her, even though Weiss was still currently MIA on the school grounds. Jaune waved at the two girls while Ren and Nora argued next to him. Or, rather, Nora argued as Ren refused to be drawn in to her schtick.

"I'm telling you, sloth Grimm could be the next big enemy! What would we do if all of a sudden they came out of nowhere, ready to kill us all?!" Nora slammed her palms down onto the table, the wood trembling under her assault.

Ren rolled his eyes and waved at the sisters. "Nora, I've never even heard of sloth Grimm. They don't exist."

"That's part of why they're so deadly! No one knows they're out there!" Nora finally noticed the two girls walking to the table and pointed at her partner. "We'll finish this conversation later, mister!"

Ruby could see that her friends had grown. Each of her companions wore their familiar battle attire, although Jaune wore a new breastplate to accommodate his broader shoulders. Nora, while still being the pint sized bundle of energy Ruby had known, had let her hair grow much longer to the point where it now hung well past her shoulders. Similarly, Ren's hair was also much longer than she remembered, flowing gracefully down his back to taper off near his tailbone in a warrior's braid.

The sisters sat down at the table, their friends examining Ruby's new arm with 'oo' and 'ah' noises. Nora was determined to arm wrestle the younger girl, but was talked down by everyone because her newly installed connector plates were sure to be very sore. After a short argument about whether or not Ruby was technically a robot and whether or not that meant she still felt pain like a 'normal human', she gave up after Yang pointed out she had a prosthesis as well and could feel pain just fine.

"Yeah, but pain just makes you stronger so maybe you weren't human to begin with." Nora pouted, arms crossing. Ren sighed and ushered her towards the line to get food, citing hunger as the reason she was being so difficult. Blake wandered in as the two came back with trays loaded with food for the whole table, and the entire group dug in.

"I thought that a special surprise would be in order!" Yang practically sang as she placed a lunch box on the table. She popped the lid off to reveal a pile of strawberries, which were Ruby's favorite food. Ruby gasped delightedly, her eye twinkling as she picked up the first small fruit and bit into it. She moaned loudly before her face flushed a bright red at how unabashedly lewd the noise had sounded. Yang simply raised an eyebrow and gave her sister a cocky grin.

"Jeez, Ru, I guess all it takes is some strawberries, huh?"

"S-shush!" Ruby's face was on fire, she could practically feel steam coming out of her ears as the rest of her friends laughed with Yang. The blush subsided as she realized how easily the group had fallen into its old dynamic. Things felt like they had before the Fall.

Nora slammed her fist against the table and stood, a determined look in her eye. "Today is a special day! A friend has returned." She glanced at Ruby. "Well, most of her. At least two thirds or more of a friend has returned. This calls for more food!" With that, Nora rushed to the line of people waiting for their food, shoving past several students and growling at them viciously when they protested.

"That was in such poor taste." Blake said, slightly uncomfortable at Nora's comment about Ruby's missing limbs.

"I don't know" Ruby began, making eye contact with Yang and smirking. "I think it was..."

Yang positively beamed, lilac eyes sparkling as she practically read her sister's mind.

" _All right!_ " Both sisters exclaimed, laughing hysterically as their friends groaned at the pun.

"I'm glad that one was good enough to use twice." Yang chortled, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I'm sure it'll be used far more than twice." Muttered Blake, ears twitching in annoyance as Yang continued to guffaw loudly.

"Did you guys miss me?" Nora asked in a sing song voice as she returned with an absolute mountain of food. She had piled everything from assorted fruits to several desserts topped with sticky syrups. One thing was common with all of the food: it was all sweet. Nora knew her audience, as Ruby had an infamous sweet tooth.

The friends all dug in, happy to be together and welcome one of their own back into the fold. It reminded Nora of another time they had sat in that same lunch hall. She grinned and scooped up a pastry with a raspberry filling before flinging it at Jaune, where it exploded all over his shirt.

"Food fight!" She shrieked, hurling another handful of food at Yang, getting it in her hair. Nora froze, realizing her mistake too late as Yang's eyes flashed red. "Or... Eh... I've decided to become a consciousness objector to all food-related conflict!"

Yang positively roared as she flipped the table towards the orange haired girl, food flying everywhere as she gave chase. Everyone laughed at the display, enjoying the moment. Almost everyone, that is.

"Aww, I _liked_ this shirt! Ruby? You alright?" Jaune asked, as Ruby's gaze was fixated on his chest. He looked down at the mess the pastry had made, bright red chunks of raspberry and red syrup plastering his white shirt. He looked up again and noticed that Ruby's pupil had dilated so far that almost any trace of silver had gone from the shimmering orb. Worried, he began to try to clear himself off the mess, scraping as much as her could from the shirt with his hand as he talked to the younger girl.

All Ruby could see was a jagged hole in Jaune's chest as her mind warped the reality of the situation out of proportion. Her breath came in ragged gasps as the gory sight became more detailed, blood oozing out of the horrendous wound while the empty hole where Jaune's heart should have been gaped at her. Dark shadows flickered at the edge of her vision as Jaune began to speak to her, concern in his eyes. She couldn't make out the words, hyperventilating as she saw Jaune bring his hand up and scrape at the wound, tearing at the edges and opening it further. Shutting her eye as hard as she could, Ruby's mind took her somewhere else.

…

 _She stood outside a small village, the eyes of her mask glowing a dull red in the darkness of the moonless night. She struggled, as she always did, to resist the will of Cinder. It worked to an extent, preventing Ruby's semblance from being activated against her will for example, but it was nowhere near enough to what Ruby desperately wanted._

 _This village was one of many to dot the countryside, and one of many to find itself in what Cinder liked to call 'her territory.' Ruby took one slow step after another, her mind screaming at her body to halt, to stop while she still had the chance. She stepped up to the first door she happened upon, belonging to a small one story house with a sloping roof. She knocked three times, loudly. For a moment, nothing happened._

 _The door creaked open and a middle-aged man with graying hair squinted into the gloom, his eyes focusing on the barrel of her nameless weapon, which was pointing right at his forehead from a few inches away. Ruby screamed at herself, trapped in her own head as she pulled the trigger, a loud report sounding as the man's head burst apart in a red mist. She could hear some screaming from inside the house from the loud noise, and made her way inside to silence whoever it was._

 _She slowly made her way through every house in the village like this, screaming at the villagers from the confines of her own head for cowering in their homes instead of evacuating. Every locked door she encountered was soon broken in by a powerful kick. Every villager she came across died from a blast of her terrible weapon. Every death weighed heavy on Ruby's already fractured soul._

 _As she stepped out of the latest house she had been clearing, a club sailed through the air and connected with the side of her head, doing nothing to harm her due to her aura but still causing her to fly through the air to tumble to the ground a few feet away. She casually launched herself back into a standing position and cocked her head at the large man who stood in front of her, club in hand. Ruby could sense him, a dull light in a sea of darkness that was the village population._

 _An aura user, but definitely not a Huntsman._

" _You will kill no one else!" The man claimed, his voice unsteady. He took a step back as she swung her shotgun into its halberd form with practiced ease, the black blade seeming to absorb any light around it. She began to walk slowly towards him, the long axe beginning to twirl around her as if it were a living thing, weaving from side to side and crossing behind her only to come back around in the same movement. The air hummed with the speed of the polearm's rotation as she began her deadly dance. The man lashed out at her blindly as fear overtook him, the sharp blade easily shearing portions of the club off and sending them flying into the air as she casually twirled and spun the large weapon like a toy._

 _She hooked the blade of the halberd into the club and yanked it out of the man's hands, forcing him to stumble towards her. A forceful stomp shattered his aura and his kneecap as her free hand grabbed his throat, her aura enhanced strength keeping him from falling to the ground. The halberd spun once more before burying itself into the ground, and Ruby unhanded it._

 _There was a crowd of villagers watching, and the beowolf mask smiled evilly as she raised her free hand to her cheek, palm flat and fingers straight. Red aura sparked across the tips of her fingers briefly as she honed it to a cutting edge. Shooting forward, her hand buried itself deep in the man's chest as he let out a strangled cry, and she tore a lump of flesh out of him before throwing his corpse aside._

 _She held his heart in her hand. She stared at it, horrified beyond belief. She mentally threw herself against whatever barrier was in her mind as she felt her free hand adjust the mask, careful to keep the dust powered plates in the forehead in contact with her skin. Knowing Cinder was watching and controlling her every move, she pleaded with any god that would listen to stay her hand as it brought the heart to her face, tears streaming down her cheeks._

 _She cursed herself and every god that had the misfortune of existing as she took a large bite out of the organ._

 _She could feel something in her mind break, and a terrible rictus grin bloomed on her blood-stained face. Silver eyes flashed, becoming ringed with amber behind that terrible mask. As she fell upon the defenseless villagers once more, she began to laugh. Quietly at first, rising in volume until it drowned out the horrible noises produced as her weapon cleanly sliced through anything in its path._

 _All the while, her tears never stopped._

 _..._

Ruby shrieked loudly, startling her friends. She tore herself away from her chair, tripping over herself and landing painfully on her newly attached arm. Screaming again at the pain that suddenly ripped through her, she activated her semblance in a panic. Blood smeared the small patch of floor where her shoulder had struck, and a small cloud of rose petals fluttered to the ground where Ruby had lay a moment before, her mad dash to the nearest trashcan sporting a disintegrating trail of them. She made loud retching noises over its rim, voiding her stomach of the meal she had just consumed. Yang rushed over to her, her hair completely forgotten, and placed her hand on the small of her sister's back in an attempt to comfort the girl.

Ruby screamed bloody murder at her sister's touch, activating her semblance once more and careening through the nearest window. It shattered into a million pieces, rose petals blowing away in the wind as her friends sailed out the window after her, desperately trying to keep up. Ruby was nowhere near as fast as she could be, limping on a painful limb that she was unaccustomed to, but she was still plenty fast enough to give them the slip. Blake was the one who found the small splashes of blood trailing across the large grounds of the academy, leading them to the troubled girl.

They found her sobbing at the base of a tree in a secluded courtyard, hugging her knees close to her chest with her new arm while her free hand raked itself through her hair repeatedly. Blake motioned for the rest of her friends to stay back as she slowly approached the clearly haunted girl. As she got closer, she could hear Ruby muttering to herself in a harsh, fast whisper.

"Somuchbloodsomuchbloodsomuchblood." Strands of Ruby's hair were tangled around her fingers, torn out to be blown away by stray gusts of wind. "Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop."

"Ruby?" Ruby screamed quietly again and her head whipped around to fix Blake with her good eye. It was wide and terrified, not seeing what was in front of her. The faunus was startled to see a fading ring of amber around the iris before it disappeared completely into the dull silver orb. Blake tentatively reached a hand out to her friend but Ruby's aura flared dangerously, giving her pause. Her aura felt different than it once had, darker somehow. It was vaguely familiar to the faunus, but she was unable to pinpoint exactly what about it made her uneasy.

"Ididn'twanttoIdidn'tIswear" The words rushed out of Ruby, a torrent of pained syllables strung together tightly as her ragged breathing made her chest rise and fall rapidly. Ruby's eye began to focus as Blake got closer, her breathing slowing slightly when she started to recognize the B of team RWBY. "B-Blake?"

"It's me, Ru. I'm here, don't worry." Blake put a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder, ready to pursue if the girl had another episode and sprinted away again. When Ruby didn't react negatively, she pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. Ruby buried her face in Blake's chest and continued to sob brokenly, the cries tearing themselves from her chest painfully as she mourned the lives of the countless people she had slain against her will.

Ruby wailed pathetically, unable to vocalize her sorrow as she clutched her friend as tightly as possible. She calmed down after a long while, but was very clearly not back to being herself. Yang's heart broke looking at the tortured nineteen year old, her remaining eye once more unseeing and unresponsive.

"Let's get her back to the infirmary." The towering blonde suggested as she picked up her broken sister. "We'll update you guys later as soon as we can." Jaune, Nora, and Ren all nodded. This was for team RWBY to handle amongst themselves.

 _Speaking of which,_ she thought to herself. "Jaune," She called to her fellow blonde. He paused, looking back. "Tell Weiss to meet us there. Tell her if she doesn't, I'll find her and drag her down myself. Let her know that I'll be in flames by the time I get there too, if it comes to that." Jaune nodded hurriedly and sped away. Anything that was important enough to make Yang go human torch mode from the get-go was something he wanted to disassociate himself from as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, Yang waited outside of the infirmary door as Blake kept Ruby company. Blake could see that the younger girl was still in a bad way, clearly having experienced some intense trauma.

 _Ru, what happened to you?_ The crimsonette's older sister worried to herself.

…

An hour later, the click-click of high heels sounded on the tiled floor of the hallway as someone approached the infirmary. A blank-faced Weiss Schnee rounded the corner and nearly walked straight into a very angry Yang. Lilac eyes met icy blue eyes as Yang glared down at the petite woman. Despite the time that had passed, the ex-heiress had grown no taller. Weiss wore her usual white outfit that mirrored the same pure hue of her hair, Myrtenaster hanging at her hip. Her platinum hair, in its usual ponytail captured by a miniature black tiara, was draped over her shoulder elegantly.

The last three years had taken a toll on the snowy-haired woman. Her eyes, once described as being cold, were absolutely frigid now, betraying no emotion. A permanent scowl adorned her face, and no one could recall the last time she had smiled. Although she had grown into her beauty, her angular face showed the tell-tale signs of stress. In addition to the signature scar that covered her left eye, a large scar spanned from her left eyebrow to cross the bridge of her nose, ending just under her right eye. It was an angry red, still not fully healed. Small wrinkles at the corners of each eye, as well as the bags under her eyes, further told Yang how hard the years had been for the ice queen.

"What took you so long?" The blonde's voice shook with emotion.

"Training." Came the short reply. Yang could feel her blood sing with rage as Weiss neglected to elaborate further.

"That's it? Training?!" Her eyes flashed a dangerous shade of red that had the heiress taking a step back. "Something as simple as a training exercise kept you from seeing your partner? Were you training when you didn't show up to see her when she first came back?!"

"I wasn't there to see her because I was in Vacuo getting _this,_ " the former heiress pointed at the recent scar. "treated. I am here now, as fast as I could be." Yang's rage died down at the hurt in Weiss' chilly voice. Yang coped in her way, Weiss coped in her own. The blonde warrior sighed and her shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I know this is hard for you, too. I don't mean-"

"It's fine, Yang. She's your sister." Weiss interrupted, putting her hand on the taller woman's shoulder. "But she is my partner as well. The person I made a promise to keep safe. I have been trying to come to grips with my failure for three years, Yang. Now I have to face it head on in."

Yang blinked at the shorter girl, not used to such a genuine response from the heiress. After Ruby's capture, Weiss had buried herself in her work as a student and later as a Huntress, communicating only in short sentences with almost everyone. Some nights before they had graduated, when she thought no one was awake, both Blake and Yang had observed Weiss clutching at Ruby's old cloak and crying silently into the night. More than once she had heard the white haired girl say Ruby's name as she sobbed.

"Just... Be careful, Weiss. She's different than before." She sighed heavily at the question in the heiress' eyes. "She's fragile, mentally."

"There's something you're not telling me." Weiss' voice was unyielding.

"We agreed to let you find out on your own..." Yang, fearless Yang Xiao Long, the Barbaric Blonde Bombshell, winced at the icy glare Weiss trained on her. Yang and Blake had been worried that telling Weiss about her partner's injuries would drive her further into her funk before she would have a chance to talk to Ruby.

"Bring me to her." Weiss' tone was so cold Yang could swear the temperature in the hallway had plummeted. She could only nod slightly and gesture for Weiss to follow her through the door to the infirmary. The door opened silently to reveal Blake passed out in a chair not unlike Qrow had been, sitting next to the unconscious Ruby Rose. Ruby's prostheses had been removed and sat on a long table that had been brought into the room, close enough for Ruby to reach should she feel the need to get up and walk around.

Weiss walked calmly over to Ruby's side, her footsteps slow and even. For a long while she stood there, taking in Ruby's missing limbs and many scars. Ruby's bandages had been torn off during one of her episodes and her hair currently covered the left side of her face. Black threads contrasted sharply with inflamed flesh where it had been torn next to the connector plate, the stitches already coming undone as aura healed the young woman's wound. Weiss, to her credit, gave no outward indication she was upset other than her tightly clenched fists.

Yang pulled up a chair next to the sleeping Blake and observed the white-haired heiress, not surprised to see tears flowing down her otherwise neutral expression. A deep pain shone in her eyes, the icy blue orbs displaying a mental anguish that Yang knew had been eating away at her for years. It might not seem it, but Weiss was probably the closest out of team RWBY to the crimson reaper. In the months leading up to Ruby's capture, the two girls had become an inseparable pair, learning much about each other as they worked together to rebuild Beacon and clear the Grimm that had invaded. They had seemed to make each other genuinely happy, and Yang had her suspicions that there had been more than a little romantic involvement between the two.

Yang's heart went out to her sister's partner, knowing that there would be pain lying in wait for her in the near future.

"W-Weiss?" Came a small voice from the bed. Ruby had woken up, her shimmering silver eye locked on to the petite woman. Weiss' breath hitched as she gave the crimsonette a sad smile. Her first smile in almost three years.

"Ruby." The single word contained such a breadth of emotion that Yang's heart hurt. "I've m-missed you so much." A sob wracked the snowy haired woman's shoulders and she leaned forward, pressing her forehead to Ruby's. They both stayed like that for a moment, tears staining the white bedsheets that covered the injured girl.

"I didn't think you were ever coming back." Weiss sobbed as she flung her arms around Ruby, the younger girl responding in kind with her remaining arm. Both girls had their hands tangled in each others' hair as they wept.

"I didn't think so either." Ruby wailed, holding the heiress even tighter. Weiss pulled back and ran a hand through Ruby's hair to tuck it behind her ear, freezing when she revealed the ruined socket and the still-healing burns that covered nearly a quarter of Ruby's face.

"Your eye." The pain in Weiss' voice was enough to bring tears to Yang's eyes. "She took your eye. That _bitch_ took your eye." Ruby's remaining eye widened as Weiss bit her own lip hard enough to draw blood.

"W-Weiss I'll be okay, promise. I'm so-"

"Don't you dare apologize, Ruby Rose." Weiss interrupted, her voice watery as she caressed the left side of Ruby's face. "Don't apologize to me, y-you dolt."

Ruby smiled at the insult, an almost pet name that the heiress used for the scythe wielder. "Fine, but that means no apologies from you, either." Weiss worried at her lip again, her eyes asking the question she couldn't bring herself to voice.

"Not once did I ever blame you, any of you. Not a single time did I ever forget about my teammates. My family." Ruby's words reduced Weiss to a whimpering mess, the white haired fencer burying her face in Ruby's chest as she sobbed.

"Hey, Weiss?" The younger woman asked after a short minute.

Weiss watery reply was muffled by Ruby's bosom. "Yes?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm taller than you now." Icy blue eyes met a single twinkling silver orb that was full of mischief. Weiss huffed out a laugh through her tears, weakly smacking Ruby's good shoulder.

"Y-you're insufferable. Dolt."

"I know. But I'm your dolt." She ran her hand through Weiss' hair and then cupped her face gently. "And I won't be going anywhere anytime soon." Both girls shared a smile, tears still shining in their eyes.

A small cough sounded from the bedside, making both women blush crimson and draw back from one another. Yang gave both of them a wry grin before turning her lilac gaze to Ruby. "How are you feeling? Do you feel like the flashbacks are over?" Ruby's eye darkened at the mention of her recent breakdowns, and Yang told herself that she would find out exactly what her younger sister had gone through.

Ruby gave a short nod, confident that she had weathered the worst of it. She was surrounded by her friends, the people that had become a part of her family. They would help her through this. She lay back onto the pillows and felt Weiss' hand grab hers. She smiled softly at the heiress, then her sister and finally at the sleeping faunus next to the blonde warrior.

Her eye drifted shut as exhaustion overtook her and she began to dream peacefully for the first time in three years.

 **Hello, all! ThirdCoffin here, finally back after a long two months. I have recently been released from physical recovery from boot camp. I sustained a knee injury that made me unfit for service, and a week away from graduating to boot! Because of this, I will be sporadic in my updates for any of my stories, though I fully intend to get back into the swing of things as soon as I can. I just need time to adjust back to normal everyday life as well as reevaluating my plans for the future. I had chapter 1 of this story ready to post since before I left, so I'm gonna just post it quick with this update.**

 **This is a story that I want to slow-burn on, in the sense that I don't want it rushed or put on a regular schedule. I will update it when I can, but with my current situation I have no idea when that may be. I hope you all enjoyed the read, and I look forward to writing for you all more in the future!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Three weeks later..._

Ruby awoke in her dorm with a start, her bed gently swaying from the sudden movement. The darkness that surrounded her was heavy, oppressive, claustrophobic. Her heartbeat sped up against her will as she desperately searched the shadows for any sign of what might have woken her.

 _I must be hearing thin-_

A scream pierced the silence, jolting her into action. Before she knew what she was doing, she was rolling from her bed down to the floor, landing gracefully and activating her semblance momentarily to redirect her momentum from a vertical drop to horizontal movement, allowing her to shoot off like a bullet in the direction of the scream.

She traveled through the darkness for what seemed like forever before she saw a light approaching. Her sense of purpose renewed, Ruby made a beeline for the source of the light and came to a screeching halt at the scene before her.

The light she could see was flickering through a large doorway, spilling out into the darkness with no sense of direction. It danced and moved, almost seeming alive. Ruby knew that meant fire, but she had only seen a fire so bright and so intense only once before.

When Beacon fell and burned.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby gingerly stepped across the threshold, and her worst fears were confirmed. In front of her was Beacon Academy, burning in the distance as the Grimm Dragon destroyed the wondrously intricate clock tower that dominated the center of campus. As the top fell, she found herself standing at its summit, joining two others at the top.

She had arrived just in time to see Pyrrha's death, just like last time. She tried to move, tried to shout and intervene as she saw Cinder nock an arrow, tried to activate her dazzling speed and somehow keep the scene from repeating itself. She saw the arrow bury itself in Pyrrha's chest, saw Cinder walk forward and taunt the dying girl. She saw Cinder lift Pyrrha's ever-present headpiece and laugh as the amazon crumbled to dust. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, had been killed a second time. And all Ruby could do both times was watch.

Cinder turned to face Ruby, red-tipped raven hair swaying as her lips split into a crooked grin. Silver eyes filled with malice trained themselves on Ruby as the demented Maiden began to laugh once more.

 _Silver eyes? Red highlights?_ Ruby thought to herself.

As the flames reached their crescendo and the brightness reached its peak, the shadows around the Fall Maiden's face were erased.

Ruby was face to face with none other than Ruby Rose. A carbon copy of herself with that same predatory smile, that same elusive madness dancing in her eyes as the fire witch herself. The person just as responsible as Cinder for Pyrrha's death. Flames engulfed everything except for the haunting figure as this darker version of herself got closer and closer.

Ruby did the only thing she could.

She screamed.

…

Ruby woke up screaming in the infirmary, cold sweat coating her body and soaking into the sheets around her. She forced herself to sit up, ignoring the aches and pains brought on by her physical therapy. Briefly, she noted just how much harder it was to sit up with her left arm and leg laying on the table beside her. The only thing she could hear was her own labored breathing and the footsteps that were quickly approaching from down the hall as she frantically scanned the moonlit room for any sign of human life. Tears were streaming down her face as Yang crashed through the door of the infirmary, not bothering to open it by hand and simply breaking it down with brute force in response to her sister's cry for help.

"Ruby! What is it what happened?" Yang's lilac eyes swept the room for any sign of break in or enemy activity, Ember Celica primed and ready.

"N-nothing. I'm fine." Ruby wiped her tears away and took deep breaths, struggling to calm down. Her heart still drummed a panicked rhythm in her chest, every beat reverberating in her ears.

"Sis, I can tell when you've had a nightmare." Yang stood, her weapon disengaging as she walked over to her sister's side. Ruby could feel a gentle hand on the small of her back rubbing tiny circles as Yang's voice softened. "C'mon. You can't lie to the girl that raised ya."

Ruby knew it was pointless to try and hide anything from Yang. Yang, being herself, would relentlessly hound Ruby for the truth until she was certain that she had been told every detail, and would not let the matter drop until she was satisfied. Plus, as her sister had pointed out, Yang had essentially taken over for Ruby's mother after Summer passed away. She knew Ruby's moods and mannerisms better than anyone. The only things Ruby had hidden from her older sister so far was the fact that she had been a one-person strike team for Cinder and the details of how Cinder had assaulted her, both physically and mentally.

"P-P-Pyrrha." Ruby choked out, fresh tears streaming down her face as her sobs began again. Yang's eyes instantly filled with her own tears at the name. She understood how upset Ruby had been and still was over the amazon's death, having been the only person other than Cinder herself to witness the murder. "I k-killed P-Pyrrha." Ruby wailed her dead friend's name and buried her face in Yang's chest, disjointed sobs tearing themselves from her throat as she gasped and fought for air.

"No, Ruby, you didn't." Yang whispered in a soothing tone, resting her chin on the top of her sister's head as her free hand began to run through the raven hair. This was not the first time they had had this conversation, and Yang was certain it would not be the last. "Any one of us would have been beaten. Even if you had gotten there sooner, we would have been saying goodbye to you too, lil sis."

Logically, Ruby knew Yang was right. Emotionally, however, she still felt that she was to blame for the tragic outcome on top of that clock tower. To heighten that sense of guilt, her dream had just showed a twisted version of herself actually doing the deed. She had the feeling that there was more to the dream than just her guilt over the death of her friend, but her tired mind was incapable of anything but soul-crushing grief.

Her sobs slowly began to relent, harsh cries turning into weak mewls of pain and sorrow as she gradually calmed down. She realized that at some point Yang had activated her aura, steady waves of heat emanating from the blonde brawler and coaxing her closer and closer to the gentle embrace of sleep. She hugged her sister gratefully, her tears finally subsiding as she mumbled incoherently into her sister's bosom.

"Of course I'll stay with you, Ru." Yang whispered as she gently laid her sister down on the pillows. She lowered herself next to her sister, morbidly noting how much easier it was to fit on the same bed now that almost a third of her sister was no longer there. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

…

True to her word, Yang was right beside Ruby when the crimsonette woke the next morning. Mercifully, the remainder of her night had been dreamless and she had slept like a rock next to the comforting presence of her older sister. She yawned loudly and began the laborious process of extricating herself from her sleeping sibling's embrace. After a few minutes of futile struggling, Ruby huffed quietly, defeated. It was only after she heard a soft giggle that she realized there was another person in the room.

"You know, it's much more amusing when someone else is on the receiving end of Yang's morning cuddles." Blake said, smiling warmly at the younger girl's grumpy expression. "I'm a morning person, and she is most assuredly not." The faunus was sitting in the chair that had become an almost permanent fixture next to Ruby's bed, as she almost always had a visitor or two to keep track of her mental and physical recovery.

Ruby huffed again and tried to struggle out of her sister's iron grip one more time before conceding defeat and turning her eye back to the short-haired ninja, a pleading look on her face. Blake laughed one more time before gracefully rising to her feet and padding silently around the bed to stand by Yang's sleeping form. She looked at Ruby, amber eyes full of mischief as she reached a hand down to caress the side of Yang's face, before it traveled to the blonde warrior's midriff. Blake dug her fingers into Yang's side, careful not to apply to much pressure with her nails, and began to tickle the brawler awake.

Within moments, Yang was standing ramrod straight at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over her chest indignantly as she glared at her partner. Blake wore a small smile as she insincerely apologized for her transgression.

"You promised to never wake me up like that again!" The blonde fumed, stomping her foot childishly and causing ringlets of her golden hair to bob in place. "I've been good about getting up in the mornings!"

"Yes, Yang, you have." Conceded Blake, mirth still etched into her features. "However, it's well past noon and you were smothering Ruby while you slept. I didn't want you to accidentally hurt her if I got you up the normal way." Despite having had the prostheses for a few weeks, Ruby's connector plates were still quite sore. Ruby was able to walk and move around just fine, but she still felt awkward as she made her way through the motions.

"Hmph." Was the only reply from Yang as she tossed her hair and closed her eyes, turning her nose up at the faunus. It was clear to Ruby that Yang was not actually mad, and that this was some weird ritual that the blonde warrior and her partner went through often.

"I could always make it up to you..." Blake began, trailing off at the end of her sentence. One of Yang's eyes opened a crack so she could look at the faunus.

"I'm listening."

"Say, dinner tonight? I'll take care of the food if you help me with the dishes afterwards."

Yang pretended to think the offer over for a moment before replying. "I guess that doesn't sound too bad." Dropping all pretenses of being upset, she walked over to the ninja and wrapped her into a bear hug, blonde hair mixing with black as she rested her forehead against Blake's with a smile. "How ya doin', pretty kitty?"

Ruby coughed loudly to prevent any further flirting between the two partners, bringing both of the older girls back to reality. All three girls blushed furiously, unsure of how to proceed. Eventually it was Ruby who broke the silence.

"So, you guys..." Ruby let the unspoken question hang in the air.

"Yeah, for about two years now." Came Yang's reply, suddenly worried that Ruby would be upset. She had assumed the Ruby would be ok with Yang's relationship with Blake on the assumption that Ruby and Weiss had feelings for each other, but what if she had been wrong?

"Good. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner." Ruby smiled at the two girls. " **Don't hurt my sister, Blake.** "

Both Blake and Yang stiffened at the change in Ruby's voice, still very much hers but with a predatory silkiness to it that made it very clear that the warning was also a threat. It seemed to the Huntresses as if there were a second person speaking at the same exact moment, layering the deadly intent into the words as Ruby spoke them.

Blake's blood turned to ice when she noticed the amber ring surrounding the silver in Ruby's eye once more. After a moment, the ring faded and Ruby seemed dazed, shaking her head as if to clear it.

"I'm starving, do you guys mind stepping out while I put my prosthetics on? I'll be out in a jiffy and we can grab something to eat!" Ruby's eye sparkled with her usual bravado and innocence, any trace of malice or seriousness gone from the younger girl. Yang quickly ushered Blake out of the room while calling back to Ruby.

"Be careful getting them on, don't fall again!" The moment the door closed, Yang whirled to face her partner, a look of equal parts terror and concern on her face as she gripped Blake's shoulders tightly. "What the _hell_ was that?!"

"I... I don't know." Blake replied honestly. She winced when Yang's grip tightened even further. "Yang, did you notice her eye? I've seen it change colors a few times now."

"No, I was too busy getting creeped out by Ruby going all murder-voice! Do you mean like when I activate my semblance?" Yang's eyes flashed red for a brief moment for emphasis, a small wave of heat washing over the cat faunus.

"No, I mean there was a ring of amber around her eye when her voice changed. It happened another time, the first breakdown she had a few weeks ago."

"I'll keep an eye out for it, I guess. Maybe we're overreacting. She's been through hell and back, anyone is bound to be a little out of sorts at least for a little while after that."

"You could be right."

"Right about what?" Ruby's chirped as she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"I was just saying that it might be time to upgrade my arm to the latest model, all sleek and shiny like yours Rubbles." Yang lied quickly, her usual swagger back in full force as she flexed her robotic limb dramatically.

"I'd wait until you see how well my new limbs hold up in combat, Yang." Ruby replied, subconsciously flexing the fingers on her prosthesis. "I was thinking of a test run in the combat gym today, if you wanna come watch. Ozpin and my doctors all say it should be cathartic, now that I'm almost fully recovered."

"Sounds good, Ruby-roo!" Yang was genuinely interested to see Ruby in action, as it had been several years since she had seen the crimsonette fight and Ruby had clearly been active, even if she wouldn't divulge exactly what it is she had been doing to keep in shape while being held prisoner.

"I would also like to observe, if that's okay with you, Ruby." Blake cautiously expressed, not wanting to trigger another moment like the one that had occurred only minutes prior.

"Of course, Blake! The more the merrier, as dad always says!" Ruby chirped cheerfully, her eye lighting up with excitement at the prospect of practicing with her weapon. Her stomach growled loudly, causing all three girls to laugh as they began to make their way to the cafeteria.

…

A plethora of weapons decorated the wall of the combat gym, ranging from simple single-function weapons to multi-function weapons that utilized multiple forms in combat. Ruby stood in front of the polearms, slightly disappointed that scythes weren't popular enough to be included in the lineup presented to her.

Ruby wore a suit not unlike what she referred to as her Strike Suit, the form-fitting black and red ensemble that Cinder had made her wear while performing her raids and missions under the influence of the Grimm mask. The main difference between the two outfits was the fact that the suit Ruby currently wore did not have any Dust enhancements on the arms or legs, and the lack of a left sleeve or left pant leg that allowed her prostheses to shine crimson under the harsh lights.

Blake, Weiss, and Yang all watched from the sidelines with worried eyes as Ruby selected a large spear and spun it a few times, eventually deciding that the weapon had an acceptable feel and making her way to the center of the circular arena that made up the center of the gym. Ozpin, Glynda, and several members of Beacon's medical staff joined the three RWBY girls in the bleachers, all of them observing Ruby with equal intensity.

Ruby eventually reached the center of the arena, pausing for a moment before giving Ozpin the signal that she was ready to begin. The headmaster of Beacon simply nodded at Glynda, who began to speak.

"Ruby, we will begin with a simple exercise involving captured Grimm. It is designed to test your reflexes and how well you've adjusted to fighting with one eye. We will begin at your mark."

Ruby simply gave a thumbs up and a loud buzzer sounded, and several beowolves were released into the arena via a system of elevators built into the floor. A baker's dozen of Grimm glared hatefully at the crimsonette as she stood with the spear held loosely in her right hand, the spearhead pointing to the ceiling. For a pregnant moment, everything was still. And then began Ruby's dance.

There was no wasted movement as Ruby calmly approached the Grimm, all of which responded by bounding forward as quickly as possible towards the young woman. Ruby allowed the closest Grimm to impale itself on her spear as it lunged forward, and she turned that forward momentum into a tight spin that resulted in her prosthetic elbow caving in a second Grimm's skull. As the two creatures began to dissolve, a group of four beowolves circled the young Huntress-in-training. Settling into a relaxed stance, Ruby activated her semblance and skewered one of the creatures before they realized she had even moved. By the time the three remaining had begun to react, they had been reduced to two. Ruby hurled her weapon at another beowolf, leaving only one remaining to stand against her. It quickly pounced at her, believing her defenseless without her weapon. Yang thought so as well, and was about to leap over the barrier into the arena when Ozpin's cane shot out in front of her, halting her in her tracks.

"Miss Rose can handle herself, Miss Xiao-Long. Let us see how she has grown as a warrior. I'm sure you would be understandably frustrated if someone were to assume you were defenseless against something as trivial as a beowolf youth." His words were steady and even, but he fixed Yang with a look that contrasted his calm tone. His gaze told her that she wouldn't be able to make it into the ring if she tried. Ozpin had an ulterior motive to letting Ruby fight.

Yang had no choice but to nod and watch as her sister nimbly dodged every attempted attack on her by the beowolf. She could feel the tension radiating off of Weiss and Blake as a hit seemingly connected, only to give way to confusion as they all realized Ruby had caught the swipe intentionally on her forearm. The beowolf let out a howl of anguish as her left hand shot forward and shattered that arm at the joint, leaving the limb to dangle uselessly at its side. Its howl was cut short, however, when her robotic limb pierced its chest and tore a hole clean through to the other side of its torso. Yang cheered as her sister agilely cartwheeled over to her spear, picking it up in one fluid motion and landing on her feet in a battle ready stance.

"That's my baby sis! That new model must be killer to be able to go straight through a Grimm like that! Mine's never done anything that cool!"

"It wasn't the prosthetic." Came a cool voice from her right. Weiss couldn't take her eyes off of Ruby, and she continued to talk to Yang as the crimsonette continued to dispatch Grimm with ease, trying to figure out the mystery of how Ruby had pulled off such a feat. "No prosthesis, no matter how advanced, should be able to do that unless it's specifically designed to."

"Then how-"

"Aura manipulation." Blake interrupted, her voice strained. Yang looked to her left and saw that Blake had paled considerably, her eyes also fixed on Ruby and wide with something approaching terror. "You take your aura and you hone it, you focus it into a blade capable of cutting just about anything our weapons normally could."

"That's cool! Why haven't we been taught that?!" Yang looked questioningly at Ozpin, wondering why he would neglect to teach his students something so useful.

"Because it's incredibly dangerous, and requires the user to be completely aware of their aura and how its being used." Weiss answered, her voice even colder than before. "If you attempt to hone your aura into a cutting edge, but are unsuccessful, all you've done is created a breaking point that could shatter the natural shield that surrounds you. Too many people have died trying to create an aural blade as a last ditch effort and failed, leaving themselves open to a counterattack they cannot defend against."

"Correct, Miss Schnee. It is a very precise technique, and requires nothing short of perfect aural awareness." Ozpin spoke up. "In fact, I've only seen a handful of people perform it successfully, including the young Miss Rose just now."

By this point, Ruby had dwindled the beowolf pack down to three remaining wolves. Two of the pack were normal adversaries, but an Alpha made up the last of the Grimm that Ruby would have to dispatch. As Ruby shot forward and dispatched the two typical wolves, the Alpha chose its moment to strike, and caught her with a crushing blow that broke her spear into two pieces and sent her flying into the arena wall, where she bounced off with a short cry of pain as her aura flared. Landing on her hands and knees, Ruby spat blood onto the ground as the Alpha confidently stalked its way over to her. The young woman grabbed half of the spear in her hand before slowly rising to her feet, the spearhead swaying back and forth as she fought to maintain her balance.

The beowolf struck, believing its prey one attack away from death. The moment it began to move, however, the spearhead ceased its erratic dance and Ruby stood up straight, showing no sign of fatigue or injury. The Alpha realized too late that it had been lured into striking distance, and then its thoughts ceased as the spear traveled through its open maw and out the back of its skull. The last beowolf dissolved as Ruby walked over to the wall and selected an axe-bladed polearm before returning back to the center of the ring.

Glynda's voice rang out again. "Miss Rose, your next exercise will require that you face off against a humanoid opponent. Are you prepared for the task?"

Ruby simply nodded and gave the thumbs up once more, her face a blank mask that betrayed no emotion.

"That's not like her," Yang muttered to her teammates. "Usually she's all pumped up during a fight. I've never seen her so..."

"Focused." Blake said, her voice still tense. Yang could see that she had begun to shake slightly, and wanted to reassure her friend.

"Blakey, Ruby will be fine. There's no need to worry for her."

"I'm not worried for her, Yang. I have no doubt that she could tackle twice as many beowolves and not have an issue." Blake shut her eyes momentarily and took a steadying breath. "Right now she just reminds me of someone. I've only seen one other person become so precise, so single-minded during a fight."

"Who?"

Blake's answer came in the form of her eyes flicking towards Yang's prosthetic arm, and then flicking back to Ruby in the ring awaiting her opponent.

"No, Blake, just no. Ruby's nothing like Ada-"

" _Please_ , don't say his name." Blake interrupted, her voice cracking. "I know it's a ridiculous parallel to make. Ruby is nothing at all like him. It just unnerves me to see how ruthless she's become in battle."

Yang nodded once to show that she understood. To be truthful, she was also worried with how cold and efficient Ruby had become in combat. Even most Hunters and Huntresses lacked that distinction in their fighting styles, each of them usually expressing themselves through their weapons and in combat. The fact that Ruby hadn't demanded to use Crescent Rose was proof enough that she had changed significantly.

"Ah, here we are, Ruby's opponent." Ozpin interrupted Yang's train of thought. A lone figure had begun to make its way to the center of the ring, white and silver metal gleaming brightly in the arena lights. The figure wore a flashy suit of armor that reminded Yang of the Sentinel Weiss could summon.

"One of those fancy new Atlesian warbots?" Yang questioned the headmaster.

"It's not called a 'warbot', Yang." Weiss huffed. "It's the Atlesian Knight 300, specifically it looks like one of their newer Excalibur models. You can tell because the helm is not a traditional Atlesian style, but a templar's helm."

"What's that mean?" Yang asked, unsure what the specific model of robot had to do with the conversation.

"It means it's been outfitted with the latest technology in terms of both visual and auditory analysis, weaponry, and processing speed." Ozpin once again commanded the conversation with an even tone. "Meaning, Miss Xiao-Long, Ruby will have to push herself to best this enemy. During the unveiling of this model, it battled one of Atlas Acadamy's teams to a draw."

"And that's only because Atlas didn't want to call it an outright victory for robot." Blake chimed in, cautiously observing the robotic Knight. "It would hurt the Acadamy's pride."

"Miss Rose, are you ready?" Glynda's voice rang out once more. Ruby's answer was a short nod as she fell into a relaxed stance with the polearm, axe head out and to the side.

"One moment, Miss Goodwitch." Ozpin did not raise his voice, but it carried throughout the arena. "Miss Rose, I would like you to use the weapon that is being brought in, if you would be so kind."

A small platform had been raised from the arena floor, with a black shape resting in the middle. Ruby paled as she recognized the halberd she had been made to use under Cinder's control, but nodded once more and exchanged the two weapons. She picked up the halberd, her aura sparking dangerously as she extended it into its close-combat form.

Blake tensed up when Ruby's aura flared, feeling the same sense of unease that she had when the crimsonette had had her outburst where her eyes and voice had changed. She opened her mouth to voice her concern, only to be cut off when Glynda spoke.

"Begin!"

The Knight wasted no time, twin blades sprouting from its forearms as it launched itself towards the young reaper. The gap between the two was closed in seconds as it began to slash at Ruby, its blades working in tandem in such a way that anything short of a full-fledged Hunter would be hard pressed to defend themselves, let alone respond in kind. However, Ruby Rose was nothing short of a prodigy when it came to one-on-one combat, and had honed her skills, albeit against her will, almost non-stop for the better part of three years.

Everyone present was awed as Ruby skillfully dodged, parried, or simply just stole the momentum from the multitude of swings that were carefully calculated to push her to her limits in terms of defense. The only person not outwardly impressed at this turn of events was Ozpin, who simply sipped from his trademark mug of coffee and kept to himself as the match progressed.

This continued for a few minutes, the robot and Huntress-in-training performing a complex and fluid dance as the Knight collected data and Ruby felt out the limits of the Knight's power.

"I guess they're pretty evenly matched." Yang breathed out, unable to take her eyes off of the sheer display of skill that Ruby was putting on.

"Not quite." Came Blake's terse reply. Yang glanced over at the Faunus and saw that her ears were sticking straight up and twitching rapidly, a clear sign that she was agitated.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"She means," Weiss interrupted, "that Ruby hasn't pressed the attack one time. Not once has she gone on the offensive."

Yang looked back to the arena and, sure enough, Ruby was sticking to a purely defensive role, not reacting aggressively at all to the robot's assault.

"Why? That's not Ruby's style at all." Yang's voice was full of concern, not having put the pieces together until just then.

"She's waiting for something, Miss Xiao-Long." Ozpin didn't look at her as he spoke. "And I believe that, in just a few moments, what she's been waiting for will occur."

"What do you m-" Yang began before she heard the gasps from her teammates. She quickly whipped her head back to see what had happened and let out a gasp of her own.

Ruby stood with her halberd outstretched, both of the Knight's blades somehow interlocked with the head of the polearm. Her arms shook with the effort of holding the robot's attack back, but she was able to manage it. This, while surprising, was not the cause for concern from team RWBY. What had frozen everybody in place was the smile.

Ruby's eye was covered by her bangs, but the lower half of her face was clearly visible to the observers. An unhinged smile had bloomed, a killer's grin that none present recognized on the innocent girl's face. She slowly raised her head to look at her opponent, her hair shifting to the side and revealing her remaining eye to the observers.

" **Finally...** " She practically sighed, a ring of molten amber circling the pool of mercury that was Ruby's eye. Yang's blood froze at the sound of that voice, at the menace that managed to permeate every syllable that escaped that deranged grin. She locked eyes with Blake for a second, terror making the Faunus shake slightly as she recognized the tone.

More importantly, Blake recognized why Ruby's aura had changed.

"Y-Yang." She choked out. "I know what's happening to Ruby."

Before anyone could question either woman, Ruby made her move. She forced the halberd up and out of the mess of blades that she had created and took a half step back as the Knight pressed its advantage. It swiped at Ruby once more, who parried the blow and utilized the momentum to launch her halberd into a vicious spin that sheared through the Knight's arm at the wrist, the reinforced blade finding little resistance. Continuing through the same spin, Ruby stepped into the Knight's reach and planted her foot on the inside of the robot's left leg, kicking fiercely at the joint. As the Knight shifted to avoid the blow, the Huntress-in-training's metal elbow connected with its right forearm, reducing the limb to a mangled mess and snapping the blade off at its base.

Effectively disarmed, the Knight threw itself backwards out of Ruby's reach and landed several meters away, arms raised to deflect the blows that it predicted to be Ruby's next move. No one moved as Ruby refused to press the advantage, the smiling girl inspecting her new limb with a look of joy.

" **They fixed you up pretty nicely, Red.** " She giggled, a sound that closely resembled the tinkling of broken glass. " **I guess Atlas tech has come pretty far.** " Ruby's voice still had that deadly quality that gave Yang the feeling that two people were speaking at the same time.

" **Well, Red. Let's see what this body can** _ **really**_ **do!** " Ruby fell into a crouch and disappeared in a cloud of rose petals, a small patchwork of cracks growing out from where she had been standing on the arena floor. In less than a heartbeat she was in front of the Knight, her halberd whistling through the air to lop off the rest of the robot's already damaged left arm. As the polearm buried itself into the floor, she released the handle and shifted her grip to the robot's right arm, left arm gripping the mess of metal and wires that made up its destroyed wrist as her palm connected with the crux of the robot's elbow, a small burst of aura completely obliterating the joint. Continuing with the momentum of the turn, her left elbow smashed into the Knight's chest where its sternum would be if it were human, crumpling the metal easily as her right hand followed through and decapitated the Knight in one fluid movement.

" **I** _ **knew**_ **this Semblance would be perfect!** " Ruby cackled as she raised her foot and stomped the Knight's head into pieces, crushing it as easily as one crushes an empty soda can. A chilling silence fell over the damaged arena, punctuated by the occasional giggle from the crimsonette as she inspected her hands and arms as if she were seeing them for the first time.

"Ruby!" Ruby froze as Yang vaulted over the railing and out onto the arena floor, her steps unsure as she made her way to her sister. "Are you feeling alright?" She stopped in her tracks when Ruby fixed her with a stare from her unnaturally colored eye.

" **I'm more than alright, Xiao-Long.** " Ruby purred, reaching out to grip the halberd still buried in the floor. " **I'm downright** _ **ecstatic**_ **!** "

With her last word, Ruby ripped the halberd out of the ground and sprang at her sister, launching herself into a spin that stopped suddenly as the blade of a sword intercepted a blow meant to tear through flesh and bone. Weiss grunted as she was pushed backwards, Myrtenaster nearly ripped out of her hand with the force of the blow. The former heiress waved her free hand and a glyph formed under her feet, allowing her to shoot backwards and grab Yang, moving her to a safer distance. As Ruby tensed to pursue, Blake dove in front of her, Gambol Shroud skating across her aura as she slashed desperately at the younger woman. The halberd sheared through the Faunus, resulting in a large explosion as the fire-Dust infused afterimage served its purpose.

Using the explosion and resulting confusion as cover, the three RWBY girls fell back into formation, Yang priming Ember Celica on Weiss' left as Blake converted her katana to its pistol form on her right, prepared to support her team from a distance until she could regain the element of surprise.

The smoke cleared to reveal a still-grinning Ruby, her aura flaring around her as it worked to repair the fresh burns and small cuts that covered her arms where her suit had been compromised. She giggled, a sound that sent shivers down the spine of everyone who could hear.

" **That tickled.** "

"Ruby what the hell has gotten into you?!" Yang screamed at her sister, Ember Celica engaging as her eyes flashed red.

" _ **I've**_ **gotten into Ruby, Xiao-Long. Simple question, simple answer.** " Came the cryptic reply, further enraging the blonde brawler.

"And who, or what, are you?" Came Ozpin's calm voice from the stands. Glynda had taken up a defensive position in front of the headmaster, who seemed as calm as ever as he continued to sip his coffee.

" **If at least one of you hasn't figured it out, I'll be very disappointed in all of you.** "

"Cinder Fall." Blake hissed, spitting the name out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

" **Ooohh! Close, so close! It would be more accurate to say that I am a** _ **piece**_ **of Cinder Fall. A fragment of her personality, her essence, her aura. I am, as it were, my own person, just without being an actual physical person.** "

"An aural transplant? That's not possible without an extremely strong bond between two people, and Miss Rose most assuredly does not have a strong bond with Cinder Fall." Ozpin sounded as if he were admonishing a student for breaking dress code. Ruby's eye twitched, clearly annoyed at his lack of reaction.

" **It doesn't say anywhere that the bond has to be a positive one, nor does it mention that it has to be a willing one.** " She spat at the headmaster. Tears began to flow down her face as she spoke, and she reached up to touch her now-wet cheek with a look of pure rage on her face. " **Crying?** _ **Really**_ **, Red?! What are you, five?! We didn't even kill anybody this time!** " She was practically shrieking at this point.

Suddenly, she stiffened up and smiled almost demurely at Ozpin, her multicolored eye raking across from him to the members of team RWBY still assembled in front of her.

" **It would seem that my playtime will soon be cut short. Before the little crybaby gets control again, let me leave you a little something: Ask your precious leader about Thorn.** " Her smile turned vicious. " **The fairy tale is over. Your friend Red isn't an innocent.** "

After speaking, Ruby's eye dulled and the ring of amber disappeared completely. The crimsonette swayed as she stood before her eye drifted shut and she collapsed to the floor, her aura suddenly in the red. Team RWBY and Glynda sprang into action, alerting medical staff and examining the young woman for any obvious signs of harm.

And Ozpin just stood, watching the young reaper with interest.

…

 **AN: Hello, all! So, here is chapter two. I'm doing my best to keep up with writing while still adjusting to civilian life again. This chapter is the first thing I've written since returning home from basic training, and I'm not entirely satisfied with it.**

 **Please, as always, share any constructive criticisms and let me know what you think! I may revisit this chapter to tweak it, still unsure.**


	3. Chapter 3

" _Ask your precious leader about Thorn."_

" _Your friend Red isn't an innocent."_

 _..._

Waking up in the infirmary again was an upsetting experience. It was nothing compared to having control of her body forcibly ripped away from her and being made to try and murder what amounted to be the only family she had. The lead doctor that was examining Ruby mentioned something about bed rest, and that she was under orders from the headmaster himself not to leave the infirmary for her own safety.

She mechanically dressed herself in her new combat attire, desperately trying to process what had happened during what was supposed to be a routine combat exercise. The shattered moon hung in the sky shining bright.

Ruby's fist smashed into the infirmary wall and pain lanced up her arm, her aura not having recovered sufficiently enough to prevent the bruises and splinters associated with such an action.

" _Dust damn it!"_ She screamed in her head as Yang, Weiss, and Blake rushed through the door, drawn in from the noise. " _I was so good, too. I've been doing good!"_ She raked her fingers through her hair as tears streamed from her eye, vaguely hearing Yang ask her if she was okay as her sister wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. She shrank from her sister's touch and put as much room as possible between herself and her team, pressing her back against the wall she had just damaged. She was dangerous, that much was now obvious.

"Don't touch me, I'm a monster." She spat bitterly.

"Rubes, you're not a-" Yang began instinctively.

"I AM!" Ruby practically shrieked. "SHE PRACTICALLY TOLD YOU HERSELF!"

"Ruby, that wasn't you." Yang shook her head.

" _That_ wasn't me, no." Ruby's response confused both Yang and Blake, but Weiss stepped forward and leveled her gaze at the younger girl.

"Thorn." The former heiress said icily. It was a statement, not a question. Ruby froze, her lone silver orb meeting glacier blue eyes that held nothing but contempt and fury.

"You know." It was Ruby's turn to ask a question that was not a question, but a statement of fact. Her eye twitched and she raked her hand through her hair again, quickly losing what little composure she had left. "Of _course_ you know. She's your sister, she'd have told you about it."

"Ruby, Weiss, what the hell are you guys talking about?!" Yang was confused, and a confused Yang very quickly became an angry Yang. "What does a thorn have anything to do with this?"

"Thorn, Yang," Weiss began, her eyes never once leaving Ruby as the younger girl closed her eye and began the calming exercises her therapists had taught her. "Is the codename for one of Cinder's most powerful strike teams. Silent, powerful, deadly. A group of people so ruthless and skilled that they, quite easily, overpowered a group of Atlesian Specialists and nearly killed the Commanding Officer, putting her in a coma for several weeks."

"Your sister, Winter." Blake guessed correctly. Weiss nodded before continuing.

"Except Thorn is not a team, or a group of people at all. That was an excuse to prevent any panic that might have occurred should the public realize that it was one person that managed all of that destruction, not to mention the total annihilation of several villages that border the territory that Cinder is currently claiming as her own."

At this point Ruby had begun to hyperventilate, all of her efforts to calm down rendered moot as Weiss continued to speak.

"Not only is this person extremely deadly, she exhibits no signs of remorse, and has been observed engaging in behaviors that suggest she _enjoys_ what she does." Frost began to form around Weiss' feet. "From witness reports that have recently surfaced Thorn is described as a young woman, estimated age eighteen to twenty-three, with shoulder-length dark hair." Weiss' voice began to take on an edge that Yang had never heard before. Icy blue eyes, like pale diamonds, drilled into the shaking form of Ruby as she continued her brief on the terrorist named Thorn. "Perhaps the most interesting thing about Thorn, though, is her weapon of choice."

"What's that?" Yang asked, her worried gaze never leaving her sister.

"A polearm." Weiss' tone was now accusatory. "Someone who has enough skill to match, say, Qrow Branwen. Someone skilled enough to best Winter in one on one combat, and _run her through like a fucking kebab._ "

"Weiss, if you're implying what I think you are..." Yang's eyes began to turn crimson as she caught on to the snowy-haired girl's implication.

"It fits, Yang." Weiss snapped. "You saw her, she's not herself! She almost _killed_ you! Ruby is Thorn!"

Yang stepped forward, towering over the petite woman as heat rolled off of her in waves. "You watch what you say about my _sister_." She growled, priming her gauntlets.

"She's right, Yang." Ruby's voice, impossibly small, stopped Yang in her tracks and ignited a righteous fire in Weiss' chest that threatened to burn her from the inside out. "About all of it. About me." Another tear traced its path down Ruby's cheek as she raised her head. What they could see in Ruby's remaining eye broke Yang's heart and gave Weiss a grim sense of satisfaction.

Pain. Hatred. Self-loathing. Defeat.

"I'm nothing but a monster. A broken little girl who thought she could save the world." Ruby stood and began to walk to the door, her teammates instinctively moving away from her as she passed. She had almost made it out of the room when Weiss spoke up again, her hand drifting to Myrtenaster at her waist.

"Where are you going? You're not supposed to leave the infirmary, you could hurt someone!" Weiss' breath caught when Ruby flinched and she saw just how badly her words had hurt the crimsonette. The pain in her remaining eye was a living thing, tears flowing freely down her face.

"What Huntresses do, Weiss." Ruby smiled a pitiful little broken smile, her eye closing briefly. "I'm going to kill the monster." Weiss' eyes widened, her anger replaced by an ache in her chest as she realized the implications of that statement.

And with that, Ruby was gone, leaving only rose petals in her place as Yang and Blake panicked. Weiss could not move, convinced that she had just made what was possibly the biggest mistake in her life.

…

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU PUSH HER LIKE THAT?!" Yang's semblance was akin to a furnace, smoke softly rising from her luxurious golden hair as she pinned her teammate to the wall with one hand.

"I wasn't thinking." Weiss replied in a small voice. And she hadn't been. All she could think of was the fact that the one person she trusted most in this world had nearly killed her older sister. She had forgotten in her rage and self-righteousness that Ruby was clearly not in control of her actions.

She flinched when Yang buried her fist into the wall inches from her head.

"No. Shit." It was taking all of Yang's self control not to thrash her teammate to within an inch of her life.

"I'm going after Ruby. You two can help, or you can continue this while our leader _tries to kill herself_." Blake hissed at both girls furiously.

Yang froze before releasing the white-haired girl, her semblance slipping away as panic gripped her yet again. "Shit shit shit where do we-"

"Yang, go check the roof, if she's not there check wherever you think is the most likely. You know her the best. I'll check the Emerald Forest, I'll be able to track her better than any of us in there." Her gaze fell on the former heiress. "Weiss."

"Yes?" Weiss replied weakly, grasping at any chance, no matter how small, to redeem herself.

Blake's eyes hardened as they met Weiss'. She tried to bite her tongue, to see it from the Schnee girl's point of view. But what she had just witnessed was nothing short of an attack on their mentally fragile leader.

"Stay away from Ruby. You've done enough." And with that, Yang and Blake were gone, leaving behind a sorrowful Weiss Schnee.

A tear traced itself down her cheek as the full consequences of her actions hit her.

" _What have I done?"_

…

" _I'm nothing but a monster. I'm too dangerous with this thing in my head trying to take control all the time."_ Ruby could feel Thorn trying to worm her way into control even now, wearing down the mental barriers Ruby kept up constantly to keep the presence at bay. She had been fighting the urges and the whispering for weeks now, struggling to keep that piece of Cinder in check.

Her hands shook slightly as she made her way to the weaponsmithing facility that Beacon kept open at all hours to allow students to repair and improve their weapons. Normally, this building would make Ruby extremely happy. It's where she had made improvements to Crescent Rose, repaired Ember Celica shortly after the fall of Beacon, and where she had spent a lot of quality time with Weiss making adjustments to Myrtenaster.

" _Weiss..."_ Thinking of the former heiress made Ruby's chest ache, the thought that her partner really did hate her for her actions was the worst feeling she had ever experienced.

She shuddered as she remembered the ministrations of Cinder Fall. Maybe not the _worst_ feeling, but it was still enough to convince Ruby that this is what she had to do.

She mumbled a halfhearted greeting to the staff member that was currently supervising before walking over to the showcase that held the example weapons for students to observe and handle when choosing their own, if that choice had not already been made.

Her hand shook as she scooped up a base-model high caliber dust pistol, one she knew would eat away at what little aura she had left and rid the world of yet another out of control Huntress. A cloud of rose petals drifted through the open window, the only sign she had been in the facility at all. Yang was several minutes too late when she arrived, the staff member informing her that he had seen Ruby enter but did not see her leave.

A few minutes later Ruby stood at the edge of the cliff where she and her team had defeated the Nevermore during initiation. She smiled a sad little smile as she looked at the ruins, memories of a happier time playing in her mind.

"I wonder if I'll see mom..." Ruby whispered to herself as she gently placed the barrel of the gun to her temple, steeling herself for what she saw as a necessary task.

 _You won't._

"Huh?" Ruby blinked at the intrusive thought.

 _You won't see her. Not if it ends like this._

"Get out of my head! You're the reason I'm doing this!"

 _I am not the other, Ruby Rose. I have only your best interests at heart._

"Oh my god." Ruby muttered to herself. "I really am crazy. Honest to goodness, talking to voices in my head crazy."

 _While I would not say you are the pinnacle of mental health, you are quite sane, Ruby Rose. Please allow me to explain before you attempt to end your life._

"Nope. Nope nope nope! I am so done with this!" Ruby's eye filled with tears again as what little composure she had regained began to slip away. She raised the gun to her temple and pulled the trigger.

…

Blake heard the gunshot echo over the forest. Even without her faunus hearing, she was sure she would have heard it in the nearly silent night. Her heart sank as she sprinted to the source, her legs working desperately as her mind began to paint the scene she was hoping not to find.

She stopped at the edge of a clearing, trees giving way to tall grass that eventually ended in a sheer drop. She recognized the area from initiation as the spot where team RWBY had conquered their first enemy together. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw Ruby standing at the edge of the cliff, only for her breath to catch when she saw the pistol in her hand still pressed firmly to her temple.

Blake stood there for what seemed to be hours, only moving forward when Ruby let the gun slowly drop to her side. She began her silent stalk, intending on pacifying the young reaper before she could cause herself harm.

"Blake Belladonna." Blake froze at the sound of Ruby's voice. It was undeniably hers, and lacked the undertone of malice it had carried when Thorn had taken over the young woman. But it was somehow different, more mature. "I apologize for the stress that young Ruby has placed upon your team's shoulders."

"Ruby, what are you-"

"You know I am not Ruby, I am certain of that." Ruby interrupted, turning around to face the faunus. A gold iris quickly captivated the ninja. Ruby's eyes were now a dull golden hue, a perfect mix of her normal silver and the blazing amber of Cinder Fall. "You may call me Carmine, if you wish. I will not be present very long, I am afraid."

"What, or who, are you?" Blake asked, Gambol Shroud extending into its katana form as her voice dipped into a low growl. She was getting extremely fed up with people hijacking her leader's mind.

"Calm yourself, Blake Belladonna. I am not a threat to you or to young Ruby. In fact," Carmine motioned to the gun still held in her right hand. "I just saved her life. A feat that I will not be able to repeat, should these circumstances arise again."

"And why should I believe you?" Blake wanted desperately for this woman, this thing, to be good. But for all her hopes, she was a realist through and through. She highly doubted the woman was being genuine.

"I'm fairly certain that I will be able to control young Ruby's body for the better part of twenty-four hours." Carmine answered. "When I am introduced to the one you call Ozpin, all will be explained."

"What do you want with him?"

"Blake, please." The woman's voice sounded so much like Ruby in that moment, a hint of desperation coloring the mature tone. "I need to speak to him. I know what and who he is but he _needs_ to speak with me before it is too late. I need the Wizard."

"Give me a reason to trust you. I can't just compromise the headmaster like that!" Blake snapped at the woman.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Blake blinked a few times at the name. "You were friends with Pyrrha Nikos, yes? She thought extremely fondly of you all, especially the boy named Jaune. Her semblance was polarity if Ruby's memories are correct. However, Ruby's memories would not contain any of the times that Pyrrha had sought you out privately for help with her agility training."

"H-how would y-"

"She was very self conscious for a champion." Carmine interrupted, her voice sad. "She felt that she had to lean only on her own strength at all times in order to become stronger. Asking you for help felt as much like a defeat as anything else she had experienced. Although, she could not be sure, not knowing what defeat truly felt like, until the very end."

"Ruby, I-"

"Carmine, please."

"Carmine, then." Blake's ear twitched as her mind raced. "If you hand me the gun, and allow me to restrain you, I see no reason I cannot escort you to Ozpin." Blake held up Gambol Shroud's ribbon as she spoke. "However, if I feel threatened or if you try to attack me in any way, I will not hold back, not even for Ruby's sake. She wouldn't want me to."

"How right you are, Blake Belladonna." Carmine spun the pistol until she was holding it by the barrel towards the cat fanus, magazine facing the sky. "I will comply with your demands on the condition that my hands are tied in front of me. If I fall I wish to be able to catch myself."

"Why would you fall?" Blake gently relieved Carmine of the pistol and began to bind her wrists together, making sure the knots were tight but did not cut off circulation.

"I have not had much practice walking around in a physical body for some time." Came the confusing reply. "I promise, all will be explained in due time."

"I hope you're telling the truth, Carmine." Blake muttered as she led the way back to Beacon's campus. "For all of our sakes."

…

-Found Ruby. Meet me outside of Ozpin's office ASAP.-

Yang looked at the message on her scroll with a heavy heart. She hadn't been the one to find her sister. She had been so sure she would be the one to swoop in and make it all better, like old times.

Trying to shake off her somber mood, Yang made her way to the large clock tower that had been rebuilt in all of its grandeur, promising herself that she would continue to do her best to help her little sister.

…

-Found Ruby. Meet me outside of Ozpin's office in 30 min. Currently calming Yang down. -

Weiss looked at her scroll and sighed, melancholy thoughts drifting through her mind. She remembered a time where she had promised Ruby to be the best partner she could be.

" _Look how well I'm doing with that. I let her get kidnapped, tortured, and now this."_ She thought miserably. _"At this rate I should just let Yang pound me into dust. She'd probably make a Schnee Dust joke that I would one hundred percent deserve."_

With another sigh, Weiss made her way slowly to Ozpin's office, wondering how she would spend the next thirty minutes.

…

"What do you mean, she's not Ruby?" Weiss asked the same question that Yang had asked not even an hour prior, and Blake pinched the bridge of her nose irritably. The blonde brawler was currently slouching against the wall across from Ozpin's office and glaring at the door as if that would make it open.

"You saw how Ruby lost control, right? This is similar, but as far as I can tell this new personality isn't dangerous. She kept Ruby from..." She hesitated, unsure on whether or not she should reveal just how close Ruby had come to ending it all. "Doing something really stupid." She finished lamely.

"From taking her own life, you mean." Weiss stated bluntly, her piercing blue eyes flashing as she locked gazes with Blake. "You don't have to coddle me, I know I'm the reason she set out to do it." Blake could see tears swimming in those icy blue orbs.

"This has been a long time coming, Ice Queen." Surprisingly, it was Yang who came to Weiss' aid with a sigh. "I'll admit you didn't have to be such a bitch about it but we can't put all of this on you."

"Yang, the things I said-"

"Were uncalled for, hurtful, and probably caused a lot of damage that you're going to be working your ass off to fix." The blonde interrupted. "But Ruby has been struggling with a lot of demons since the fall."

"I still-"

"Weiss, this is bigger than you feeling guilty and feeling like you should be punished." Yang spoke out of turn once more, walking forward and placing her hands on Weiss' shoulders. "She blames herself for so much. She blames herself for Pyrrha's death, for you isolating yourself after she disappeared. To an extent, she blames herself for my arm being gone because she wasn't there to keep it from happening. She's always been like this, but this is the first time it's threatened to actually hurt her bad enough to take her from me, so please," Yang's breath hitched as tears made their way down her face. "Stop blaming yourself and just be here. Be my friend. Be Ruby's partner. Please."

A solitary tear traced its way down Weiss' cheek before she flung her arms around the fierce warrior in front of her. Both girls stood there for a long moment, breathing heavily and trying to stifle their crying. Several minutes passed before they regained their composure, the office door creaking open slowly soon after and Ozpin beckoning them in from inside.

Ozpin sat behind his desk, his trademark cup of coffee resting on its glossy surface. It was still slightly unnerving to see how quickly Ozpin's new body had grown, resembling a man in his twenties even though his hair had already started to gray despite his young age. Carmine stood in front of the desk, a small smile on her face as she faced the girls entering the office. She nodded her head towards the three and spoke.

"I have already had the pleasure of meeting Blake, but greetings to you Weiss Schnee, and to you as well, Yang Xiao-Long." Her golden eye was filled with warmth.

"Get out of my sister's head." Yang stated flatly, crossing her arms across her chest. "And kick that other bitch out too, while you're at it."

"I am afraid I cannot, Yang Xiao-Long. I will remain in control of this body for the better part of a day, and that cannot be helped. There is too much at stake for me to remain idle."

"Why can't you just give my sister back?!" The blonde growled.

"Because, if I did, she would put another bullet in her skull." Carmine's eye flashed dangerously and a wave of heat rolled from her, making everyone shift uncomfortably other than the fire-proof Yang.

"Another?" Weiss asked.

"I have a rather unique semblance." Carmine moved her gaze to the former heiress. "It has a passive state and an active state. My passive state is referred to as Aural Chameleon, and it renders my residual aura level so low that I cannot be detected by conventional means when it comes to tracking a person's aura."

"But that makes no sense." Blake interjected, one ear flicking. "That would mean your aura would be too low to act as a shield should someone or something attack you."

"That," the golden-eyed woman smiled a peculiar smile. "Is where my semblance's active state comes into play. When my body sustains damage, my aura can repair that damage near-instantaneously, so long as the wound isn't being held open by a weapon or poison of some sort. This is referred to as Total Regeneration."

"Oh god." Weiss paled as she connected the dots, her naturally fair complexion making this quite a feat. "She didn't."

"She did. Ruby Rose put a bullet in her head little more than an hour ago. My semblance is how she managed to survive. I'm thankful that she selected a higher caliber pistol, as it would have been quite difficult to repair the damage were there a bullet in her brain. As it was, it was a powerful enough blast that it went in one side and out the other."

"I've never heard of a semblance like that." Yang was shaking as she spoke to the woman wearing her sister's face, telling her that by all rights Ruby should be dead. "Only in the stories mom used to tell us."

"Summer knew well enough those weren't just stories." Ozpin spoke for the first time since the girls had entered his office. "And Carmine, here, is the Fall Maiden. Or, rather, the first Fall Maiden."

"What?! That's ridiculous!" Yang shouted, leading Ozpin to raise an eyebrow. "S-sorry, headmaster."

"No need to apologize, Miss Xiao-Long, so long as you remember that you're currently speaking to a several millennia-old man who created the Maidens to combat an even older Dark Queen." He chuckled as Yang's face turned a bright red. "I simply mean to say that not everything that you think is unlikely is actually as unlikely as you think."

"Did that confuse anyone else?" Yang muttered to herself. "But yeah, I get it. I still don't get why this means that people get to keep taking Ruby's body over."

"I suppose you mean the piece of Cinder Fall that is calling herself 'Thorn'." Carmine stated. "I can explain everything as I have to the Wizard, I do not mind."

"When a new Maiden is selected, all of the power of the old Maiden flows to her, along with the memories and experiences of the previous Maiden." The golden-eyed reaper began. "It is extremely similar to an aural transplant, and is also identical to the method that Ozpin uses to renew his life when his body dies. The fact that the current Fall Maiden performed an aural transplant while she is still alive has complicated the natural order of things. It is my belief that the cycle has become imbalanced, and that I have been reawakened to restore that order. Thorn complicates things, as the natural conclusion to an aural transplant is the homeostasis of both the donor personality and the host personality."

"So, in short, a mix of Ruby and Cinder." Blake hazarded a guess.

Carmine nodded. "However, because Thorn is technically a portion of the Fall Maiden's power, I am currently occupying the space that she would normally take up. This is not a permanent occurrence, and I aim to rectify this before my time in control of this body has come to an end."

"How do you intend to restore order to this cycle?" Weiss asked, intrigued.

"By killing Cinder Fall." Carmine's eye turned into a miniature sun as she spoke, her tone low and gruff. "By taking the life of the one who would corrupt the gift given to us Maidens and passing her power on to the next. But first I must take care of the issue that is Thorn and myself. Someone with silver eyes lacks the capacity to become a Maiden, as they are already the embodiment of an extreme power, and thus Ruby's body continues to reject the transplant."

"So, what's the plan?" Yang cracked her knuckles, impatient to let out some of her frustration.

"The plan, Miss Xiao-Long, is that in a few hours Carmine will be going on a solo mission. She will return before her time controlling Miss Rose has elapsed, and your sister will be back among us, hopefully without anyone sharing her mind." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, unfazed by the look of extreme frustration from the fiery blonde.

"I am _not_ letting my sister just waltz out to who-knows-where and do who-knows-what while I just sit around!"

"With all due respect, I am not technically your sister." Carmine's voice was firm and unyielding. "And I have more combat experience than your entire team combined, even with the experiences Ruby has had over the last three years. I will be gone for approximately twelve hours. If you call yourself a Huntress with any amount of pride, you will heed the word of those who are more experienced."

Yang visibly wilted at being scolded by someone with her sister's face and voice. Even though she knew it wasn't Ruby, it still felt like her sister was behaving like a stranger.

Her voice and eye softened as she stepped forward and placed her hand on Yang's shoulder. "I will return your sister to you unharmed, this I swear. Please take care of her when she gets home, she is very unwell mentally. I have briefed the Wizard on exactly what happened to Ruby during her tenure with Cinder Fall. He will fill you in while I am completing my mission."

"What do you mean, 'When _she_ gets home'?" Blake asked. "What about you? What about Thorn?"

At this, Carmine smiled. It was not a particularly nice smile.

"You'll see."

 **AN: Another chapter down! These chapters are not as long as the first, I know, but I believe that with these 4.5k-6k word chapters I'll be able to tell a better story without overloading you guys with information, as well as being able to add a natural break to the story every now and then. Please tell me what you guys think of this chapter and earlier chapters, as I am starting to settle back into this whole writing thing and it's helping a lot with my personal issues.**

 **Thank you so much for every favorite and follow!**

 **Kharaki Takan: Thank you for the encouragement and kind words! I fully intend to add more of Ruby's time with Cinder into the story, as well as more badass Rubes, so hold tight!**

 **GladiusInvidia: I appreciate every kind word, thank you very much! I hope to keep you entertained with this fic.**

 **Mecharic: That was the direction I was going to go and then suddenly I was thinking about how aura is the manifestation of the soul. I am still fleshing this idea out but it's definitely one I want to run with!**

 **Herpaderp1028: You were my first review! Up until I saw that notification I was extremely worried that what I was creating was better left on my computer for my eyes alone. You were the first step in me thinking that this would be something that others would enjoy, and for that I thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I am so sorry about how long it took me to update, more about that in the AN below. Until then, enjoy!**

A little less than six hours later, Carmine arrived at her destination deep within the Forever Fall, a heavily loaded backpack in tow. A massive cave loomed in front of her, a jagged gash carved into the cliff face that she had worked so diligently to find. Under normal circumstances, this location would have taken days, maybe even weeks to find, but utilizing Ruby's speed semblance more than made up for the remoteness of the cave's location.

She could remember her mother's voice like it was yesterday telling her stories of how Dust was never a naturally occurring resource, and that the heavens themselves decided to bless humans in their fight against the Grimm, bestowing upon them the volatile crystals that would come to be known as Nature's Wrath. These concentrated pockets of energy fell to the earth below, burying themselves wherever they touched down in a glorious display of power and energy.

This cave was one such place. A monumentally large pocket of undiscovered Dust sang beneath Carmine's feet as she delved deeper into the mountain, moving steadily towards its center. After a few minutes of walking, she emerged into a dimly lit cavern whose ceiling stretched out far above her, ending in darkness before she managed to actually glimpse the top. Not that she was looking anywhere but the two massive Dust crystals that sat in the center of the cavern, each easily the size of a fully grown Ursa Major.

Letting out a tense breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in, Carmine began her tedious work. She had only a few short hours to arrange the necessary glyphs, symbols, sigils, and wards. She chuckled to herself as she imagined the look Weiss Schnee would have watching her apparent dunce of a partner preparing what was quite possibly the most complicated piece of Dust magic to be used in the last couple centuries. Her small smile soon fell as Ruby's feelings for the former heiress washed over her once again, a mix of pain and rejected love that broke Carmine's heart. Heavy sighs accentuated her work over the course of the next few hours.

…

Carmine wiped her sweat-drenched sleeve across her forehead, trying to clear her exhausted mind. She had expended quite a lot of aura to ensure her wards and glyphs were correct to the exact detail, and she still had the actual ritual to perform. Allowing herself a few minutes rest was all she could do before she clambered into the center of the cavern, a large rune-filled circle dominating the space. She stepped into the small clearing in the center, before focusing her mind on the two crystals that practically called out to her. A soft glow began to emanate from her and her hair was whipped about by a nonexistent breeze. The ritual had begun.

Carmine began first by shaping and condensing the extremely large Dust crystals. Making them smaller, more dense, until they were vibrating with untapped power and potential. And still she pushed, pouring as much of herself into the process as possible. Within the hour, both crystals had settled into a large, ovular shape roughly the same size as an average human. Panting with the effort, she began the second part of the ritual, which involved flaring her aura and expanding it as far as she could, allowing her perfect situational awareness. Slowly, she pulled her aura back in, drawing it deep into herself until she felt as if she were alone in a pitch dark abyss, unable to sense more than a few inches in each direction around her.

She pushed hard outwards, and she felt the layers in her aura, the distinct separations between her and the other two living beings that she shared her mind with. Mentally gripping the aura that pulsed and throbbed with unbridled malice, she shoved it towards the first Dust crystal, sealing it within the bundle of pure energy and activating the runes she had inscribed around it. Steeling herself, she began to activate the second set of runes around the other crystal and began to count down from ten. When she reached one, she slammed her own aura into the crystal and the world went black.

…

She awoke with a gasp, her head pounding and throat burning as she coughed and wheezed. Carmine immediately flared her aura and sensed two others near her, both unconscious. She sighed with relief and took stock as she rubbed her eyes. A smile briefly crossed her face as she was reacquainted with binocular vision, something she had definitely taken for granted before.

Groaning with effort, she stood up inside of the circle of runes and shivered, her unclothed form chilled by the cavern's cool air. She was thankful that she had packed clothing in the bag, and began to rummage through it. She had just finished dressing herself when a soft groan caught her attention.

Thorn lay in the second circle, clutching her head and whining pitifully. Her body was small, more similar to Weiss in stature than Ruby. Crimson red hair slipped through her fingers as her hands fell to the ground, pale skin practically glowing in the dim light of the cavern while she tried to push herself up into a sitting position. Wasting no time, Carmine grabbed a small pouch full of various herbs and emptied it into her palm. She quietly padded over to Thorn and deftly slipped the herbs into her mouth when the half-conscious girl groaned in pain yet again, the Maiden's hand coming up to force her jaw closed and cover her mouth. Thorn thrashed around as violently as she could manage for a few moments before the herbs took affect and her eyes, molten amber gleaming dangerously, closed against her will.

Having knocked out her main concern, Carmine sighed with relief and bundled the girl in a cloak before tying her hands and feet, making sure that the knots were tight while not being cruelly so. While restraining Thorn, Carmine realized that she was young, much younger than she had initially thought. The young girl whose features strongly resembled those of Cinder Fall's couldn't have been any older than seventeen, her face still slightly cherubic although she had begun to grow into a woman. A pang of guilt stole through her for a quick moment before she recalled just how malevolent the girl truly was.

She shook Ruby gently by her shoulder a few minutes later, having checked the young girl for any injuries that could have been brought on by the transfer of aura into the crystals. She had found a few signs of aura fatigue but nothing that couldn't be fixed by a good night's rest. Ruby slowly came to and found herself staring at a pair of golden orbs that shone with warmth. They were set in a delicate face that had high cheekbones and a sharp jawline, framed by hair that seemed to be spun from pure gold as the tresses shimmered in the low light. Ruby found herself reminded of Yang, but where Yang was the fire of passion and intensity, this woman was the warmth of soft kisses and gentle hugs, burning gently but still shining just as bright.

"Carmine?" The older girl nodded, smiling at the crimsonette. "You're so pretty!"

Carmine laughed, a rich and husky sound that made Ruby blush when she realized what she had said. She quickly buried her face in her hands, mortified.

"Will I ever develop social skills?" She groaned mournfully. Carmine laughed again and ruffled her hair softly before speaking.

"I appreciate the compliment, Ruby Rose. I know you do not mean anything untoward by it."

Carmine's voice was just as husky as her laugh, deeper than Ruby would have expected. "After all, we have shared a mind for quite some time. I know exactly who the apple of your eye is."

An image of snow-white hair framing ice blue eyes flashed through Ruby's mind, her chest aching.

"I-I'd rather not talk about that right now, if you don't mind." Ruby mumbled almost imperceptibly, her face continuing to get more red. "What happened? How are you, well, you?"

"I separated my aura from yours, as well as Thorn's, and managed to create vessels for Thorn and myself. It was a fairly experimental technique that I've been thinking about for some time now. It required a truly massive amount of energy, probably enough to keep an entire kingdom powered for the better part of a year, but it worked."

"Thorn?" Carmine gestured to the bundled girl still laying in the center of the second circle. Ruby quickly stood and took hesitant steps towards the person that had tormented her thoughts for years. Ruby thought she was pitifully small, her diminutive form at odds with the mental picture she had created. The voice in her head that was so full of malice and hate should have belonged to a towering amazon who struck fear into the hearts of all that looked upon her, not a small girl with crimson hair with skin so pale that it was practically a pure white. While inspecting the unconscious girl, she noticed something that broke her heart.

"She's so young..." Thorn, the terrible voice that had made her do and say so many awful things, was barely older than a child. She turned her baleful silver eye to Carmine, tears gathering but not falling as she spoke. "What did Cinder do to her?"

Carmine was silent for a long time, unsure of how much to share or even how to describe what Thorn had experienced. "Imagine that your mother viewed you as nothing more than a tool. You are not someone to be loved or cherished, but some _thing_ to be utilized and used. Cinder is as close to a mother as Thorn can have, and that is how she has been treated. You thought that it was Cinder controlling you from afar with the mask, but really the mask was intended to nullify your aura while allowing hers to develop and grow at an accelerated rate. She is broken and suffering greatly, that is all I will say for now." Carmine's voice was full of pain as she motioned to Ruby to follow her out of the cavern.

Ruby looked down once more at her pale tormentor and could only feel pity. As much as she wanted to be angry or hateful, all she could think about was how grateful that she had had a mother like Summer, and an older sister like Yang once their mother had passed.

She shuddered at the thought of knowing nothing but Cinder as an authority figure. Never warm, never smiling except when reveling in someone's pain.

She looked at Thorn's thin face and wept as she picked her up and followed Carmine out of the cavern.

 **AN: Hello all, sorry about the short chapter, but I have only just been able to sit down and write again and I wanted to get an update out quickly. I have fully recovered from my injury and have since started working in a management position that eats up a lot of my time, as well as having to commute 3 hours each day for the position. I recently moved to the area my store is located in and now I finally have some spare time every once and a while to just sit down and type. Thank you all for your patience and I fully intend to finish this story!**


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